iPhone's global marketshare drops in March quarter as Chinese rivals remain ascendant

Posted:
in iPhone edited May 2019
Apple saw the iPhone drop to 11.9% of the global smartphone market in the March quarter, even as Chinese rivals like Huawei bucked the industry's overall decline.

iPhone XR


Apple's share fell against 14.1% in the first quarter of 2018, according to new Gartner research comparisons. That translates into a drop from about 54.1 million units to around 44.6 million.

Huawei's share rose from 10.5% to 15.7%, the latter representing 58.4 million units. Fellow Chinese companies Oppo and Vivo grew to shares of 7.9% and 7.3% from 7.3% and 6.1%, respectively.

South Korea's Samsung remained the industry leader, even as its share dipped from 20.5% to 19.2%, with first-quarter sales of 71.6 million phones.

The global smartphone market shrank from 383.5 million devices to 373 million. Gartner blamed the result on shoppers gravitating toward lower-cost phones, whether they normally buy "premium" smartphones like those from Apple and Samsung, or they are feature-phone owners deciding not to make the leap.

"The price cut for iPhones across markets helped drive up demand but wasn't enough to restore growth in the first quarter," wrote Gartner research director Anshul Gupta. "Apple is facing longer replacement cycles as users struggle to see enough value benefits to justify replacing existing iPhones."

Huawei is poised for serious trouble, though, given bans on U.S. ties, Gupta added.

"Unavailability of Google apps and services on Huawei smartphones, if implemented, will upset Huawei's international smartphone business which is almost half of its worldwide phone business. Not the least it brings apprehension among buyers, limiting Huawei's growth in the near term," he commented.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 25
    racerhomie3racerhomie3 Posts: 1,264member
    Huawei's death should help Samsung across the globe &  in Europe.
  • Reply 2 of 25
    entropysentropys Posts: 4,152member
    If loss of market share starts eroding profits, Apple will have to do something about price, or pull a rabbit out of the hat on a must have feature. Steady as she goes risks irrelevance.
  • Reply 3 of 25
    Huawei's death should help Samsung across the globe &  in Europe 

    more people would go to lower lower cost phones than to Apple I feel. Even if Huawei gets eliminated.
  • Reply 4 of 25
    lkrupplkrupp Posts: 10,557member
    entropys said:
    If loss of market share starts eroding profits, Apple will have to do something about price, or pull a rabbit out of the hat on a must have feature. Steady as she goes risks irrelevance.
    Blah, blah, blah, yada, yada, yada, Apple is doomed. You sound like a broken record.
    StrangeDays
  • Reply 5 of 25
    ivanhivanh Posts: 597member
    Apple is now 6 years lagging behind the world, e.g. 5G modem in 2025. No break-through in house apps, e.g. still the same Contacts app of 5 years ago. Poor HomeKit & Siri than Google Home & Assistant. Poor ergonomic screen design, you have to press buttons with your fingers flying to every corner of the screen to do simple tasks, the bigger the screen, the longer distance your fingers need to travel.

    my friend told me that his iPhone 6s is as fast as his son’s iPhone X. I asked him how come. He said it’s because he never updates the iOS and thus able to retain the original speed. Comparing to my iPhone 6 Plus with the current iOS version, his iPhone 6s runs like the Flash. And, he keeps the lovely 32-bit games which I have to forget because there’s no more 32-bit version.

    frankly, my kids are using latest iPhone versions. But I find nowhere near to upgrade mine.  Apple, do you know your problems?
    frantisekLatko
  • Reply 6 of 25
    kevin keekevin kee Posts: 1,289member
    Funny that in reality everywhere I go I see people mostly use iPhone. There are a few possibilities of why this is the case:
    1. People don't upgrade their old iPhone as often
    2. People don't use their non-iPhone as often (unlikely)
    3. Geographic (developed countries vs developing, city vs urban, etc.)
    4. Demographic (young vs old)
    5. The numbers are inaccurate (most likely) or somebody lies about the number (unlikely)

  • Reply 7 of 25
    kevin kee said:
    Funny that in reality everywhere I go I see people mostly use iPhone. There are a few possibilities of why this is the case:
    1. People don't upgrade their old iPhone as often
    2. People don't use their non-iPhone as often (unlikely)
    3. Geographic (developed countries vs developing, city vs urban, etc.)
    4. Demographic (young vs old)
    5. The numbers are inaccurate (most likely) or somebody lies about the number (unlikely)

    Many iPhone don't upgrade they're phones since they bought a quality smartphone to begin with. I have a 6S going on 4-years this December. I have no plans to replace for at least another 2-years, maybe more. I just had the 1st battery replace 6-months ago, so it should last until then.

    Many Android users buy cheaper phones and replace them every 2-years and if they don't, they often end up with a phone that is not getting performance or security updates.

    Doesn't Apple still make 90% of all smartphone profits worldwide?
    edited May 2019 racerhomie3
  • Reply 8 of 25
    ivanh said:
    Apple is now 6 years lagging behind the world, e.g. 5G modem in 2025. No break-through in house apps, e.g. still the same Contacts app of 5 years ago. Poor HomeKit & Siri than Google Home & Assistant. Poor ergonomic screen design, you have to press buttons with your fingers flying to every corner of the screen to do simple tasks, the bigger the screen, the longer distance your fingers need to travel.

    my friend told me that his iPhone 6s is as fast as his son’s iPhone X. I asked him how come. He said it’s because he never updates the iOS and thus able to retain the original speed. Comparing to my iPhone 6 Plus with the current iOS version, his iPhone 6s runs like the Flash. And, he keeps the lovely 32-bit games which I have to forget because there’s no more 32-bit version.

    frankly, my kids are using latest iPhone versions. But I find nowhere near to upgrade mine.  Apple, do you know your problems?
    Good luck finding a 5G network and the second you walk indoors you'll lose that single. I know a lot of people haven't read the fine print when it comes to 5G but it's extremely short range 300-500 meters. It's easily blocked by walls, windows, doors, trees, leaves, rain, fog, so it basically doesn't penetrate far into buildings and from I've read, 5G indoors requires an outdoor receiver that delivers 5G over WiFi or Ethernet indoors.  5G speeds are awesome, but what real use is that speed on your smartphone? Sure you can tether it to a computer, but how often do you work outdoors.

    5G was basically designed to support huge numbers of people in large unobstructed spaces, like Times Square, or to supply gigabit speeds to city dwellers who will use it as a replacement for wired service. Due to the expense and range, it's not going to a full coverage spectrum and will need 4G and 3G to provide full coverage.
    racerhomie3
  • Reply 9 of 25
    silvergold84silvergold84 Posts: 107unconfirmed, member
    Gartner isn’t new to report wrong numbers about iPhone.. almost every year..
  • Reply 10 of 25
    KuyangkohKuyangkoh Posts: 838member
    Gartner isn’t new to report wrong numbers about iPhone.. almost every year..
    Hahahahahaha and it is still in his business singing wrong numbers
  • Reply 11 of 25
    jcs2305jcs2305 Posts: 1,336member
    ivanh said:
    Apple is now 6 years lagging behind the world, e.g. 5G modem in 2025. No break-through in house apps, e.g. still the same Contacts app of 5 years ago. Poor HomeKit & Siri than Google Home & Assistant. Poor ergonomic screen design, you have to press buttons with your fingers flying to every corner of the screen to do simple tasks, the bigger the screen, the longer distance your fingers need to travel.

    my friend told me that his iPhone 6s is as fast as his son’s iPhone X. I asked him how come. He said it’s because he never updates the iOS and thus able to retain the original speed. Comparing to my iPhone 6 Plus with the current iOS version, his iPhone 6s runs like the Flash. And, he keeps the lovely 32-bit games which I have to forget because there’s no more 32-bit version.

    frankly, my kids are using latest iPhone versions. But I find nowhere near to upgrade mine.  Apple, do you know your problems?
    I though that it was reported that Apple will make their own 5g modem in 2025 when their new Qualcomm agreement is over. It was never said they will wait until 2025 to introduce a 5g modem in their phones? So desperate to take a shot at Apple that you can't even get the rumored info straight. Please do better with the troll bullshit. 


    So your iPhone 6 plus runs faster on IOS 8 than the current IOS 12? ..... That was what the iPhone 6 plus shipped with BTW...  This whole post is nonsense.. 
    LordeHawkracerhomie3StrangeDaysmuthuk_vanalingam
  • Reply 12 of 25
    croprcropr Posts: 1,122member
    kevin kee said:
    Funny that in reality everywhere I go I see people mostly use iPhone. There are a few possibilities of why this is the case:
    1. People don't upgrade their old iPhone as often
    2. People don't use their non-iPhone as often (unlikely)
    3. Geographic (developed countries vs developing, city vs urban, etc.)
    4. Demographic (young vs old)
    5. The numbers are inaccurate (most likely) or somebody lies about the number (unlikely)

    Maybe you should  not extrapolate your neighborhood to the whole world.  There are a lot of developed, high income countries where the market share of iPhones is below 15%. 
    muthuk_vanalingam
  • Reply 13 of 25
    croprcropr Posts: 1,122member
    ivanh said:
    Apple is now 6 years lagging behind the world, e.g. 5G modem in 2025. No break-through in house apps, e.g. still the same Contacts app of 5 years ago. Poor HomeKit & Siri than Google Home & Assistant. Poor ergonomic screen design, you have to press buttons with your fingers flying to every corner of the screen to do simple tasks, the bigger the screen, the longer distance your fingers need to travel.

    my friend told me that his iPhone 6s is as fast as his son’s iPhone X. I asked him how come. He said it’s because he never updates the iOS and thus able to retain the original speed. Comparing to my iPhone 6 Plus with the current iOS version, his iPhone 6s runs like the Flash. And, he keeps the lovely 32-bit games which I have to forget because there’s no more 32-bit version.

    frankly, my kids are using latest iPhone versions. But I find nowhere near to upgrade mine.  Apple, do you know your problems?
    Good luck finding a 5G network and the second you walk indoors you'll lose that single. I know a lot of people haven't read the fine print when it comes to 5G but it's extremely short range 300-500 meters. It's easily blocked by walls, windows, doors, trees, leaves, rain, fog, so it basically doesn't penetrate far into buildings and from I've read, 5G indoors requires an outdoor receiver that delivers 5G over WiFi or Ethernet indoors.  5G speeds are awesome, but what real use is that speed on your smartphone? Sure you can tether it to a computer, but how often do you work outdoors.

    5G was basically designed to support huge numbers of people in large unobstructed spaces, like Times Square, or to supply gigabit speeds to city dwellers who will use it as a replacement for wired service. Due to the expense and range, it's not going to a full coverage spectrum and will need 4G and 3G to provide full coverage.
    Maybe you should follow a 101 course about 5G.  You clearly have no clue what you are talking about
    edited May 2019
  • Reply 14 of 25
    cropr said:
    ivanh said:
    Apple is now 6 years lagging behind the world, e.g. 5G modem in 2025. No break-through in house apps, e.g. still the same Contacts app of 5 years ago. Poor HomeKit & Siri than Google Home & Assistant. Poor ergonomic screen design, you have to press buttons with your fingers flying to every corner of the screen to do simple tasks, the bigger the screen, the longer distance your fingers need to travel.

    my friend told me that his iPhone 6s is as fast as his son’s iPhone X. I asked him how come. He said it’s because he never updates the iOS and thus able to retain the original speed. Comparing to my iPhone 6 Plus with the current iOS version, his iPhone 6s runs like the Flash. And, he keeps the lovely 32-bit games which I have to forget because there’s no more 32-bit version.

    frankly, my kids are using latest iPhone versions. But I find nowhere near to upgrade mine.  Apple, do you know your problems?
    Good luck finding a 5G network and the second you walk indoors you'll lose that single. I know a lot of people haven't read the fine print when it comes to 5G but it's extremely short range 300-500 meters. It's easily blocked by walls, windows, doors, trees, leaves, rain, fog, so it basically doesn't penetrate far into buildings and from I've read, 5G indoors requires an outdoor receiver that delivers 5G over WiFi or Ethernet indoors.  5G speeds are awesome, but what real use is that speed on your smartphone? Sure you can tether it to a computer, but how often do you work outdoors.

    5G was basically designed to support huge numbers of people in large unobstructed spaces, like Times Square, or to supply gigabit speeds to city dwellers who will use it as a replacement for wired service. Due to the expense and range, it's not going to a full coverage spectrum and will need 4G and 3G to provide full coverage.
    Maybe you should follow a 101 course about 5G.  You clearly have no clue what you are talking about
    Really, then please explain it to me. But of course you can't be bothered. Please include links.

    Millimeter-wave 5G isn’t for widespread coverage, Verizon admits

    https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2019/04/millimeter-wave-5g-isnt-for-widespread-coverage-verizon-admits/

    • Ray noted that millimeter-wave spectrum "has great potential in terms of speed and capacity, but it doesn't travel far from the cell site and doesn't penetrate materials at all."

    • One day after T-Mobile CTO Neville Ray wrote that millimeter-wave spectrum "will never materially scale beyond small pockets of 5G hotspots in dense urban environments," wireless industry analyst Craig Moffett asked Vestberg about Ray's statement during a Verizon earnings call.

    NOTE: Limited deployments due to cost and range.

    Advantages of 5G | Disadvantages of 5G Technology

    http://www.rfwireless-world.com/Terminology/Advantages-and-Disadvantages-of-5G.html

    • Coverage distance of up to 2 meters (in indoor) and 300 meters (in outdoor) can be achieved due to higher losses at high frequencies (such as millimeter waves). 5G mmwave suffers from many such losses (penetration loss, attenuation due to rain, foliage loss etc.)

    NOTE: You can of course increase the distance by using a lower frequency but that comes with slower speeds, throughput and I assume greater latency.

    Sunrise launches 5G across Switzerland

    https://www.digianalysys.com/sunrise-launches-5g-across-switzerland/

    • 5G coverage and the Sunrise Internet Box 5G are needed for customers to benefit from 5G high-bandwidth Internet. Selected Sunrise 5G pioneers have been provided with a Sunrise Internet Box 5G exclusively and free of charge as an introductory offer. PCs, laptops, tablets and smartphones simply connect to the Sunrise Internet Box 5G via WiFi at home or in the office and surfing at 5G speeds can begin.

    NOTE: With low material penetration you'll need 5G transmitters indoors or a 5G receiver to re-transmit over WiFi. Towers need to be connect to fiber optic lines for optimal performance.


    5G is a solution for New York City Times Square

    https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/need-alternative-mobile-access-osvaldo-coelho/?trk=v-feed

    • 5G is a solution for New York City Times Square. About 350,000 pedestrians pass through Times Square on an average day—that number jumps to 460,000 on the busiest days—that's no small task.
    edited May 2019 StrangeDays
  • Reply 15 of 25
    gatorguygatorguy Posts: 24,176member
    kevin kee said:
    Funny that in reality everywhere I go I see people mostly use iPhone. There are a few possibilities of why this is the case:
    1. People don't upgrade their old iPhone as often
    2. People don't use their non-iPhone as often (unlikely)
    3. Geographic (developed countries vs developing, city vs urban, etc.)
    4. Demographic (young vs old)
    5. The numbers are inaccurate (most likely) or somebody lies about the number (unlikely)

    I made the comment quite some time back and I'd repeat the same today: I rarely see an Apple Watch in the wild. In fact I don't recall the last time I saw one. 

    That does not mean they aren't all around me. Based on sales they must be.
    I'm not looking for them, smartwatches don't interest me anyway, and there's nothing about an Apple Watch that seems to attract my attention. You not seeing anything but iPhones could be your equivalent to my Apple Watch blindness. 

    I remember back years ago I was so excited to choose what I thought at the time must be a new on the lot rare forest green metallic Jeep Grand Cherokee. The week after we bought it we saw at least another 3 or 4 while puttering about. I just hadn't ever looked for them before but they were there.
    edited May 2019 muthuk_vanalingam
  • Reply 16 of 25
    StrangeDaysStrangeDays Posts: 12,844member
    entropys said:
    If loss of market share starts eroding profits, Apple will have to do something about price, or pull a rabbit out of the hat on a must have feature. Steady as she goes risks irrelevance.
    Lol...you make it sound like Apple is on thin ice, and isn’t in fact the most successful public company in history and could do nothing and still exist a century from now due to all the money they’ve made. But guess what? They’re not going to stand still, and never have. 
  • Reply 17 of 25
    StrangeDaysStrangeDays Posts: 12,844member

    ivanh said:
    Apple is now 6 years lagging behind the world, e.g. 5G modem in 2025. No break-through in house apps, e.g. still the same Contacts app of 5 years ago. Poor HomeKit & Siri than Google Home & Assistant. Poor ergonomic screen design, you have to press buttons with your fingers flying to every corner of the screen to do simple tasks, the bigger the screen, the longer distance your fingers need to travel.

    my friend told me that his iPhone 6s is as fast as his son’s iPhone X. I asked him how come. He said it’s because he never updates the iOS and thus able to retain the original speed. Comparing to my iPhone 6 Plus with the current iOS version, his iPhone 6s runs like the Flash. And, he keeps the lovely 32-bit games which I have to forget because there’s no more 32-bit version.

    frankly, my kids are using latest iPhone versions. But I find nowhere near to upgrade mine.  Apple, do you know your problems?
    So much bullshit, I don’t even know what to address. But no, your friend’s 6s isn’t as fast as a X. This is fact. 
  • Reply 18 of 25
    StrangeDaysStrangeDays Posts: 12,844member

    gatorguy said:
    kevin kee said:
    Funny that in reality everywhere I go I see people mostly use iPhone. There are a few possibilities of why this is the case:
    1. People don't upgrade their old iPhone as often
    2. People don't use their non-iPhone as often (unlikely)
    3. Geographic (developed countries vs developing, city vs urban, etc.)
    4. Demographic (young vs old)
    5. The numbers are inaccurate (most likely) or somebody lies about the number (unlikely)

    I made the comment quite some time back and I'd repeat the same today: I rarely see an Apple Watch in the wild. In fact I don't recall the last time I saw one. 

    That does not mean they aren't all around me. Based on sales they must be.
    I'm not looking for them, smartwatches don't interest me anyway, and there's nothing about an Apple Watch that seems to attract my attention. You not seeing anything but iPhones could be your equivalent to my Apple Watch blindness. 

    I remember back years ago I was so excited to choose what I thought at the time must be a new on the lot rare forest green metallic Jeep Grand Cherokee. The week after we bought it we saw at least another 3 or 4 while puttering about. I just hadn't ever looked for them before but they were there.
    If not seeing Apple Watches everywhere, get your vision checked. Because if you live in a city it’s impossible not to see them — nurses, baristas, attorneys, tourists, everyone. Only a vision issue or (more likely) cognitive dissonance would prevent your eyes and brain working together. 
  • Reply 19 of 25
    badmonkbadmonk Posts: 1,285member
    gatorguy said:
    kevin kee said:
    Funny that in reality everywhere I go I see people mostly use iPhone. There are a few possibilities of why this is the case:
    1. People don't upgrade their old iPhone as often
    2. People don't use their non-iPhone as often (unlikely)
    3. Geographic (developed countries vs developing, city vs urban, etc.)
    4. Demographic (young vs old)
    5. The numbers are inaccurate (most likely) or somebody lies about the number (unlikely)

    I made the comment quite some time back and I'd repeat the same today: I rarely see an Apple Watch in the wild. In fact I don't recall the last time I saw one. 

    That does not mean they aren't all around me. Based on sales they must be.
    I'm not looking for them, smartwatches don't interest me anyway, and there's nothing about an Apple Watch that seems to attract my attention. You not seeing anything but iPhones could be your equivalent to my Apple Watch blindness. 

    I remember back years ago I was so excited to choose what I thought at the time must be a new on the lot rare forest green metallic Jeep Grand Cherokee. The week after we bought it we saw at least another 3 or 4 while puttering about. I just hadn't ever looked for them before but they were there.
    Gator, you need to take a walk in a hospital, They are very common among healthcare workers, especially among younger anesthetists, practitioners and nurses.  It allows them to screen text messages for importance rather than taking iPhones out of pockets and purses.

    They are very busy and need to minimize interruptions.
  • Reply 20 of 25
    gatorguygatorguy Posts: 24,176member

    gatorguy said:
    kevin kee said:
    Funny that in reality everywhere I go I see people mostly use iPhone. There are a few possibilities of why this is the case:
    1. People don't upgrade their old iPhone as often
    2. People don't use their non-iPhone as often (unlikely)
    3. Geographic (developed countries vs developing, city vs urban, etc.)
    4. Demographic (young vs old)
    5. The numbers are inaccurate (most likely) or somebody lies about the number (unlikely)

    I made the comment quite some time back and I'd repeat the same today: I rarely see an Apple Watch in the wild. In fact I don't recall the last time I saw one. 

    That does not mean they aren't all around me. Based on sales they must be.
    I'm not looking for them, smartwatches don't interest me anyway, and there's nothing about an Apple Watch that seems to attract my attention. You not seeing anything but iPhones could be your equivalent to my Apple Watch blindness. 

    I remember back years ago I was so excited to choose what I thought at the time must be a new on the lot rare forest green metallic Jeep Grand Cherokee. The week after we bought it we saw at least another 3 or 4 while puttering about. I just hadn't ever looked for them before but they were there.
    If not seeing Apple Watches everywhere, get your vision checked. Because if you live in a city it’s impossible not to see them — nurses, baristas, attorneys, tourists, everyone. Only a vision issue or (more likely) cognitive dissonance would prevent your eyes and brain working together. 
    Comprehending what you read doesn't appear to be one of your stronger points. 
    muthuk_vanalingam
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