Canalys has published its quarterly report on the general status of the smartphone market for the third quarter of 2019, ending on September 30. The big news in this report is that global smartphone shipments grew by 1% year-on-year. That might not seem like a lot, but it's actually the first time the number of shipments has grown in nearly two years, as the market has been on a steady decline since the fourth quarter of 2017.
The main driver of growth was Huawei, which shipped 66.8 million devices during this period, a significant 29% increase over last year's shipments during the same period. Much of that growth came from China, where it grew 66% year-on-year. Regardless, shipments in overseas markets also increased, despite the trouble the company has been going through with the United States government. However, Canalys warns that smartphones release after Huawei was added to the U.S. Entity List may bring some uncertainty, since they don't come with the Google services many consider essential in an Android device.
Samsung also enjoyed an 11% growth year-on-year, shipping 78.9 million smartphones and maintaining its leading position. Canalys attributes its growth to the bigger portfolio of flagship devices, as well as the improved A-series models that offer better specs for the price.
Apple, on the other hand, continued to fall, but the 7% decrease is smaller than what happened in the first and second quarters of the year. Canalys notes, however, that Apple released three iPhones in September for the first time - both the 2017 iPhone X and the 2018 iPhone XR went up for pre-order in October. Additionally, Canalys notes that the lack of 5G support may pose a challenge for Apple heading into 2020, as the network continues to expand.
Rounding out the top five brands are Xiaomi, which declined 3%, and OPPO, which saw a 7% growth. Other manufacturers took a hit and fell 14% overall.
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