The worldwide shipments in the smartphone market shows a decline of 6.3% in the fourth quarter of 2017.
Overall Samsung remained at the top of the worldwide smartphone market in 2017. Only in the fourth quarter Apple past Samsung largely because of iPhone 8, 8 Plus, and iPhone X even though Apple saw a decline in volume of 1.3%. Huawei is still on the number three position.
International Data Corporation (IDC) reported that: “According to preliminary data from the IDC Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker, smartphone vendors shipped a total of 403.5 million units during the fourth quarter of 2017 (4Q17), resulting in a 6.3% decline when compared to the 430.7 million units shipped in the final quarter of 2016. For the full year, the worldwide smartphone market saw a total of 1.472 billion units shipped, declining less than 1% from the 1.473 billion units shipped in 2016. Developed markets such as China and the United States both witnessed a decline during the quarter as consumers appeared to be in no rush to upgrade to the newest generation of higher-priced flagship devices.”
