Global smartphone sales only increased by 7% in the first quarter, dragged down by the decline in the Chinese market.
According to the technology website VentureBeat, although global smartphone sales increased by 7% in the first quarter of this year, it is far below the growth rate of 34% in the same period last year. German market research company GfK released a report stating that global smartphone sales in the first quarter of this year were 310 million units. Despite the seasonal nature of smartphone sales, the growth rate in the first quarter was lower than 24% for the entire year last year.
GfK believes that the main reason for the slowdown in global smartphone sales growth is the Chinese market, where 3G phone sales have become saturated. Due to the slower than expected launch speed of 4G networks, sales of 4G phones are insufficient to compensate for the losses caused by the slowdown in 3G phone sales. According to data from GfK, smartphone sales in China fell by 14% in the first quarter of this year.
If GfK's data is accurate, Apple's iPhone sales in the second quarter will appear more eye-catching. Apple reported selling 61.2 million iPhones in the second quarter, breaking previous records and exceeding most analysts' expectations.
Overall, large screen smartphones have largely driven the growth of global smartphone sales, which is undoubtedly good news for Apple, which launched the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6Plus last year. GfK predicts that with the increase of 4G network coverage, smartphone sales in China will accelerate in the second half of this year.
According to GfK, a trend unfavorable to Apple is that the market share of smartphones priced below $250 (approximately RMB 1527) continues to grow, from 52% in the fourth quarter of last year to 56% in the first quarter of this year. Currently, Apple has no problem in combating the trend of decreasing smartphone prices. The main competitors in the low-priced smartphone market are Microsoft Windows and Android smartphones.
GfK predicts that global smartphone sales will increase by about 10% this year.