Smartphone shipments in Southeast Asia (SEA) expanded 22 per cent last year to 101.4 million units, according to IDC.

All the emerging markets in the region experienced double-digit growth, with Thailand leading the expansion with a 42 per cent increase. Only developed Singapore saw shipments decline in 2015, dropping about 5 per cent.

Indonesia remained the largest market, accounting for nearly 29 per cent of the SEA market. It was followed by Thailand and the Philippines at 22 per cent and 14 per cent, respectively.

Samsung remained the number one vendor (see chart below, click to enlarge), with a 21.5 per cent market share, after shipments increased 18.1 per cent to 21.7 million units last year. It launched the Galaxy J series, with models ranging from $75 to $200, which allows the vendor to match China-based vendors’ competitive price points, said Jensen Ooi, IDC Malaysia market analyst.
IDCSEAsmartphones

Asus moved from fourth to second with an 8.3 per cent share (up from 4.7 per cent a year ago) as shipments soared 114 per cent to 8.3 million units. Asus also broadened its range, introducing devices with price points ranging from $100 to $250 and larger screens, such as the Zenfone 2 series and the Zenfone Go, Ooi noted.

Apple slid to third from second in 2014, with its market share holding at 6 per cent and shipments rising 22.7 per cent to 6.1 million units. Oppo dropped from third to fourth despite expanding its market share from 5.1 per cent to 5.6 per cent over the past year, with shipments growing 33.7 per cent to 5.7 million units.

Lava, the fasting growing vendor in the region last year with 142.7 per cent growth, expanded its share from 2.6 per cent to 5.1 per cent. It shipped 5.1 million units, up from 2.1 million in 2014.