The bad news is, smartphone sales slumped again last quarter. The good news is, Samsung (OTC: SSNLF) not only used this year's turmoil to gain market share, but it grew its total unit shipments on a year-over-year basis.
That's the word from technology market research outfit Gartner anyway, as detailed in its third-quarter review of the global smartphone market. A much smaller Xiaomi (OTC: XIACF) gained much more market share on a sizable increase in units shipped, though its bar was set lower. Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) essentially held its ground, while Huawei -- a major disruptor of the smartphone landscape just a few quarters ago -- lost quite a bit of ground. Oppo remains the least relevant of the five biggest names in the smartphone business, and, like Apple, mostly held its ground last quarter.
The big story buried in this data, however, really is Samsung. The lost market share it was starting to claw back before the coronavirus pandemic rattled the world is being rewon, with its third-quarter unit shipments reaching their highest levels since the third quarter of 2017.
For further details see:
Samsung Gains Share in Smartphone Market Despite Weakening Demand