Global smartphone sales continue to decline in Q3 2019, Gartner reports, as they drop by -0.4% Y-o-Y to 3.8 billion units due to consumers becoming more concerned about getting value for money, leading to weak demand.
“For the majority of smartphone users, desire has shifted away from owning the least expensive smartphone. Today’s smartphone user is opting for midtier smartphones over premium-tier ones because they offer better value for money,” the analyst says. “In addition, while waiting for 5G network coverage to increase to more countries, smartphone users are delaying their purchase decisions until 2020.”
The shift leads to the strengthening of entry-level and mid-tier portfolios by brands such as Samsung, Huawei, Xiaomi, Oppo and Vivo. Such a strategy has helped Huawei, Samsung and Oppo grow in Q3 2019, while the resolutely high-end Apple has continues to face double-digit sales declines. In fact, Huawei is the only top 5 smartphone vendor to achieve double-digit sales growth in Q3 2019, selling 65.8 million units, a 26% Y-o-Y increase. Key to such performance is, of course, China, since the ongoing trade war with the US lead the company to invest more heavily in its home country.