The COVID-19 pandemic put immense pressure on the smartphone market. We saw a number of factories shutter temporarily and sales falter due to lockdown earlier in the year. Now, the smartphone market is witnessing a rebound but is still not at the same levels as last year. Gartner’s newest report backs up this claim, revealing that the sales declined 5.7% year-on-year. Phone makers shipped close to 366 million units globally in Q3 2020.
Gartner’s latest report is in line with recent IDC and Counterpoint reports as well. All reports suggest that Samsung took the pole position worldwide, with Xiaomi rising to the occasion and meeting the pent-up demand after the lockdowns. “Consumers are limiting their discretionary spend even as some lockdown conditions have started to improve,” said Anshul Gupta, senior research director at Gartner.
