Little known smartphone manufacturer cracks the top five for the first time

A new brand cracked the list of the top five global smartphone manufacturers by shipments according to Canalys which just released the numbers for the second quarter that ended in June. Transsion shipped 22.7 million units during the quarter, up 22% year-over-year giving the firm a 9% market share up from 6% last year. The Chinese manufacturer is responsible for the Tecno, Infinix, and iTel brands and was able to take advantage of a recovery in African markets and a recent expansion into other emerging markets.

The usual suspects held down the top three positions as Samsung delivered a leading 53 million units. While that was a 14% decline from the 2022 second quarter, Samsung's leading market share remained flat at 21%. Even though Apple saw its shipments, at 43 million, decline 13% on an annual basis, the iPhone managed to keep its share of the global market flat as well, at 17%.

Xiaomi shipped 33.2 million handsets during the second quarter of 2023, good enough for third place. The company shipped 16% fewer handsets than the number it delivered during Q2 of 2022. That decline cost the company just one percentage point in global market share which amounted to 13% in Q2 2023. And right below Xiaomi was Oppo; one of the phone brands under the BBK Electronics umbrella, Oppo saw its Q2 global market share stay flat at 10% despite an 8% annual decline in deliveries to 25.2 million units.

Overall, global smartphone shipments were 258.2 million during the second quarter of 2023, down 10% from the 287.4 million units delivered during the same quarter last year. That was an improvement from the 13% decline recorded during the first quarter of this year. Amber Liu, an analyst at Canalys said, "The decline in the global smartphone market has once again narrowed, helped by an industry-wide inventory reduction and signs of demand recovery in certain regional markets."

Liu added, "Samsung has adopted a conservative strategy amid profitability pressure and slow recovery in the semiconductor industry. With the second quarter being a low season with fewer new launches, Samsung has seen its lowest Q2 performance since 2013. With the high-profile release of its latest Galaxy Z Flip and Fold models, it has clearly demonstrated its ambition to compete with Apple in the luxury market. This strategic move is crucial for its anticipated recovery over the next nine to 12 months."