Smartphones are one of the most popular consumer products, after several years of growth in the global market, sales fell in 2019.
Manufacturers still managed to sell 376 million devices only in the last three months, bringing the annual volume to 1.43 billion, which allowed large companies to stay afloat. Nevertheless, a 5 percent drop was recorded compared to 2017, and in the billionth ratio of 5 percent - a rather significant amount.
Samsung Electronics Co. - the leader in the smartphone market, with a share of 20.8%, reduced sales from 317 million devices in 2017 to 291 million in 2019. Sales of Apple Inc., which ranks second and 14.9% of the market, also fell from 216 to 206 million
Meanwhile, a number of Chinese manufacturers, including Xiaomi, Oppo, Vivo and Huawei, showed significant growth, and in 2019 (in the third and fourth quarters) they sold more than in 2017. Huawei grew by 35 percent, selling 205.8 million phones. Xiaomi increased sales from 91 to 119 million.
What is the reason for the decline? New devices do not make big innovative leaps that previously forced consumers to change their one-year-old smartphone to a more powerful one that just appeared on sale. Phones have also become more durable and functional. If the device does not have a specific function, users can download the application for everything: from the best camera filter to a digital assistant. Meanwhile, markets are oversaturated. In China, the majority of the population has a smartphone, in Western countries, too. Many will be happy to stick with their phone until it stops working. Therefore, smartphone manufacturers must think outside the box in order to revive their growth. It is expected that 2019 innovations, such as 5G and foldable smartphones, will be able to influence the current market situation.
