Global smartphone market recovers after sluggish 2020

5G smartphones proved to be a key growth driver for the top vendors in Q1

The global smartphone market grew by 26 per cent in the first quarter of 2021, according to figures from Gartner.

This upswing in sales paints a more positive picture from Gartner's figures last year, which found that smartphone sales slumped 12.5 per cent in full year 2020.

Overall, global mobile phone sales to end users grew 22 per cent year on year.

"The improvement in consumer outlook, sustained learning and working from home, along with pent-up demand from 2020 boosted sales of smartphones in the first quarter," said Gartner senior research director, Anshul Gupta.

"Consumers started spending on discretionary items as the pandemic situation improved in many parts of the world and markets opened up.

"However, one cannot ignore that the base for comparison is also lower in 2020, than it was in 2019. This explains the double-digit growth."

How the vendors performed

The top three global smartphone vendors maintained their respective positions in the first quarter of 2021, Gartner claims.

Samsung took the top spot, capturing 20.3 per cent market share.

The analyst firm said the launch of mid-priced smartphones, such as phones priced under $150, boosted Samsung's unit sales globally.

The early shipping of its flagship 5G smartphones added to the company's smartphone sales growth.

Apple moved back into the second position in the first quarter of 2021, after securing the number one spot in the fourth quarter of 2020.

The launch of its first ever 5G iPhone led to continued demand in 2021.

Gupta adds: "5G will continue to be the major growth driver for Apple in 2021. Device upgrades will fuel demand for Apple's flagship phone throughout the year."

All of the top five global smartphone players registered strong year over year growth over 2020 indicating that the phone market is consolidating around the top five vendors.

Chinese companies Xiaomi (number three), Oppo and Vivo witnessed growing demand for 5G smartphones and capitalised on the opportunities due to weakening sales of Huawei and LG globally in this quarter.