iPhone or Android: 2017's fourth quarter saw 2004's first decline in smartphone sales as sales of the two largest Samsung and Apple devices fell at the end of last year.
The data provided by Gartner show that total smartphone sales in Q4 (fourth quarter) fell by 5,6% compared to the corresponding period of the previous year. The numbers show Apple and Samsung underperforming, while the companies Huawei and Xiaomi showed stronger performances.
Samsung released just over 74 millions devices during duration in Q4 2017, down from 76,7 million devices shipped in Q4 2016, a 3,6% decrease.
But despite the fall, Samsung still has a market share that reaches 18,2%, from 17,8% that was 2016.
Apple had with 73,1 millions of sales, showing a tremendous decline from at least 77 million devices released in the same quarter last year. Apple's market share is currently at 17,9%.
What is more worrying for Apple, however, is that iPhone sales have declined and the Gartner reports that the company's flagship was down at least 5%.
“Apple was in a different position this quarter than it was 12 months ago. It launched three new smartphones – iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus and iPhone X – but its performance in the quarter was overshadowed by two factors,” said Anshul Gupta, research director of Gartner.
"First, the later availability of the iPhone X led to slow upgrades to the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus, as users waited to try out the more expensive model. Second, market shortages and capacity constraints led to a large supply cycle for the iPhone X, which returned to normal in early December 2017. We expect better demand for the iPhone X to boost Apple sales by in the first quarter of 2018. ”
Huawei, on the other hand, is now at 10,8%, after selling 43,8 million units, from 40,8 million last year, while in Xiaomi's case, growth was impressive: 28,1 million devices versus 15,7 million last year.
