{"id":2470,"date":"2016-05-05T10:06:58","date_gmt":"2016-05-05T07:06:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/saudishopper.com.sa\/en\/?p=2470"},"modified":"2026-03-27T15:18:46","modified_gmt":"2026-03-27T12:18:46","slug":"smartphone-market-contracts-by-6-in-q1-shipping-only-320-million-units","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/saudishopper.com.sa\/en\/smartphone-market-contracts-by-6-in-q1-shipping-only-320-million-units\/","title":{"rendered":"Smartphone Market Contracts by 6% in Q1, Shipping only 320 million Units"},"content":{"rendered":"

Leading mobile analyst firm Juniper Research<\/a>\u00a0estimates that the number of smartphone shipments reached 320 million in Q1 2016, representing a year-on-year decline of nearly 6%.<\/p>\n

Apple<\/strong> reported its first ever year-on-year decline in iPhone sales this quarter, attributed to the larger than expected success of the iPhone 6 range in 2015. With the latest 6S only offering incremental improvements on these designs, sales have returned to more usual growth patterns after the usual Q4 sales boost.<\/p>\n

However, with economic problems in China, and Apple facing legislative opposition to its services there, future growth in this region is likely to be harder to achieve than in previous years.<\/p>\n

China Sneezes, the World Catches a Cold<\/strong><\/p>\n

Xiaomi\u2019s meteoric growth has slowed, to just over 14 million units shipped, a 1% decline on shipments compared to this time last year. Lenovo is estimated to have suffered a similar drop, shipping 15.9 smartphones this quarter.<\/p>\n

Several vendors without a strong base in China are also suffering. Microsoft has posted its worst ever quarter for Lumia sales, at only 2.3 million units shipped. Similarly, Sony has experienced a 57% YoY decline, partly due to focusing on profitability over volume, but also due to the slowing market.<\/p>\n

A Few Glimmers of Hope for Android<\/strong><\/p>\n