The latest report from Strategy Analytics paints a comprehensive picture of the global smartphone industry with a strong recovery growth rate as the COVID-19 pandemic has been controlled by vaccines. If we look back at Q1 2020...In Q1, Samsung surpassed Apple, with 77 million smartphones sold, representing a 23% market share and a 32% growth compared to the same period last year. Despite holding the second position with a 17% market share in the first three months of 2021, Apple experienced a 44% growth compared to Q1 2020. Strategy Analytics attributes Samsung's success to the introduction of the new Galaxy S21 and A-series mid-range 5G-supported smartphones earlier this year:
In the following positions are three Chinese smartphone brands, namely Xiaomi, Oppo, and Vivo, with no sign of Huawei. All three companies have achieved impressive sales growth, with increases of 80%, 68%, and 85% respectively compared to the same period last year. This means that Vivo's smartphone sales nearly doubled compared to Q1 2020. According to Strategy Analytics, Chinese phone manufacturers have achieved these numbers thanks to strong demand in populous markets like China and India, as well as expanding their business in Africa, Europe, and Latin America. Interestingly, Apple's smartphone sales for the first three months of the year were only 8 million units higher than Xiaomi's, equivalent to a 2% market share.Around this time last year, Huawei still held the second position in the list of best-selling smartphone brands. However, the COVID-19 pandemic combined with the Trump administration's sanctions have pushed Huawei out of the top 5. There was a time, in Q2 2020, when they even surpassed Samsung and Apple due to domestic market demand, but they couldn't sustain that growth.According to Android Authority