Strategy Analytics has published its latest survey of 5G smartphone shipments across the globe, and the numbers look very impressive with increases between 114% and 1,165% among manufacturers.
According to the report, the period between January and March 2021 was with 133.9 million sales, which is 458% more than last year’s mere 24 million.
| company | Q1 2020 sales (in million) |
Q1 2020 market share |
Q1 2021 sale (in million) |
Q1 2021 market share |
Annual change |
| Apple | 0 | 0% | 40.4 | 30.2% | Not applicable |
| Oppo | 1.7 | 7.1% | 21.5 | 16.1% | 1.165% |
| Vivo | 2.6 | 10.8% | 19.4 | 14.5% | 646% |
| Samsung | 8.3 | 34.6% | 17 | 12.7% | 105% |
| Xiaomi | 2.5 | 10.4% | 16.6 | 12.4% | 564% |
| Others | 8.9 | 37.1% | 19 | 14.2% | 114% |
| Total | 24 | 100% | 133.9 | 100% | 458% |
It is estimated that Apple sold 40.4 million 5G iPhones. Strategy Analytics cited the increase as 100%, although technically it is an infinite number, as Apple had zero phones with 5G connectivity in its portfolio last year.
According to Ken Hyers, director at SA, Apple is the clear 5G leader due to the fact that the iPhone 12 is “very popular throughout China, Europe and the US” with its “sleek hardware design and surprisingly competitive prices”.
The above list does not include Huawei, which fell victim to the trade war between China and the United States. Nature contains no vacuum, so its place in the 5G market was taken by domestic competitors Oppo, Vivo and Xiaomi.
