- Smartphone sales fell a whopping 20.4% in the second quarter of 2020 when the pandemic went into effect.
- Samsung stayed at the top, but it also took one of the worst hits.
- Most of the other companies suffered as well, although Apple survived largely untouched.
If you suspected that the global smartphone market would continue to collapse once the COVID-19 pandemic broke out in earnest, you guessed right.
Gartner analysts have estimated that global smartphone sales declined 20.4% year over year in the second quarter of 2020, just when many countries were completely banned or restrictions were only slightly relaxed. India's sales were particularly hard hit, falling by a whopping 46% compared to the same period last year.
Smartphone sales Q2 2020 numbers
Not every phone manufacturer fared the same, however. Samsung held onto its market share lead of 18.6%, but its revenue declined 27.1% in the quarter - it barely ousted Huawei, whose much smaller decline (6.8%) contributed to it, accounting for 18.4% % to reach. Xiaomi and Oppo also scored significant hits with 21.5% and 15.9% respectively.
However, there was one outlier among the top five brands. Apple's sales fell just 0.4% in the spring, aided by both a recovering Chinese market and the affordable iPhone SE. The company's brilliant performance in the USA was then carried over to the international stage. Ultimately, 13% of global smartphone sales were achieved.
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The researchers didn't predict how phones would perform for the rest of 2020, though that's not surprising. While a number of new phone launches could boost demand, such as the Galaxy Note 20 family and upcoming iPhone models, it is becoming increasingly clear that some locks and other restrictions will remain in place for a while. The phone industry may not revisit its heyday until it is safe enough to resume normal life - and that is unlikely this year.
