Global smartphone sales: Xiaomi gains ground while Huawei declines

Smartphone sales in the third quarter of 2020 are down by 5.7% compared to 3Q 2019. Image: IStock/Vectorig via AFP Relaxnews.

Global smartphone sales dropped to 366 million for this year’s third quarter, against 387 million in Q3 2019, according to Gartner’s latest data. Huawei is increasingly struggling to sell its devices on the international level, while Xiaomi notched up stunning growth in this quarter.

The 5.7% global slump in the third quarter follows the historic decline of 20% of smartphone sales during the first two quarters of this year, mainly due to the COVID-19 pandemic, government-ordered lockdowns and many factory shutdowns.

Samsung remains the leading phone maker, while Huawei loses ground with a steep 21.3% decline this quarter in comparison to that of 2019. United States sanctions against Huawei have had strong repercussions on smartphone sales outside of China. Its latest devices, launched in spring 2019, are struggling to woo European and U.S. consumers, mainly because they no longer feature Google services and its app store.

Huawei’s misfortunes are benefiting fellow Chinese brand Xiaomi, which offers midrange devices that perform well and are usually cheaper than those of its competitors. With global sales up by almost 35%, Xiaomi climbs the podium of the biggest smartphone makers worldwide for the very first time, nudging Apple into fourth place.

Top 5 smartphone makers in the world in the third quarter of 2020

1. Samsung, 80.8 million sales (+2.2% in a year)
2. Huawei, 51.8 million sales (-21.3%)
3. Xiaomi, 44.4 million sales (+34.9%)
4. Apple, 40.5 million sales (-0.6%)
5. Oppo, 29.8 million (-2.3%). CC

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