Emerging market vendors drive record quarter for smartphones – IDC

There are “more than a dozen vendors” that could take a top-five position in the smartphone charts in the next quarter, IDC said, with tough competition among the lower ranks.

According to the company, “emerging markets supported by local vendors” continued to act as the “main catalyst” for smartphone growth.

“As the death of the feature phone approaches more rapidly than before, it is the Chinese vendors that are ready to usher emerging market consumers into smartphones. The offer of smartphones at a much better value than the top global players but with a stronger build quality and larger scale than local competitors gives these vendors a precarious competitive advantage,” said Melissa Chau, senior research manager with the company.

As a whole, the market grew by 23.1 per cent year-on-year, to reach 295.3 million shipments, a new single quarter record. The company expects the 300 million unit quarter to occur this year.

The Q2 2014 chart was led by Samsung, although it lost 7 per cent market share year-on-year, “despite having one of the largest smartphone portfolios of all OEMs”. The company should “focus on building momentum in markets dominated by local brands”, IDC said.

In second place was Apple, which has suffered from a traditional seasonal low ahead of the anticipated introduction of a new iPhone. The third quarter “could be a drought or a flood” depending on the timing of its next device release, the research firm noted.

Landing third spot was Huawei, with a “story centred on 4G LTE pick-up, particularly in China”. Outside of its home market, larger volumes of its lower-cost Y series devices fuelled growth across most regions.

Another Chinese vendor, Lenovo, took fourth place, with a record quarter in its home market “despite tremendous pressure from local brands”. Ahead of its anticipated acquisition of Motorola Mobility, Lenovo is already gaining traction outside of its home market, with the proportion of its shipments going to international buyers tripling year-on-year.

Fifth-placed LG saw its volumes driven by its mass-market L smartphones, such as L70, which “performed well in many markets including the US”. The wider international rollout of its flagship G3 is also likely to drive volumes in the coming months.