Apple’s global iPhone shipments beat expectations, despite falling -9% YoY in Q1 2020 due to the COVID-19 crisis and demand stagnation.

The company fared much better that the overall industry, with the total global smartphone market dropping -17% YoY, while major players Samsung and Huawei fell -19% YoY and -18% YoY, respectively, in the quarter. Apple’s global marketshare by volume in Q1 2020 was 14%, which placed Apple as the third largest smartphone vendor globally in the quarter, behind Samsung (21%) and Huawei (18%).

Apple’s smartphone business in developed regions slumped, but it grew in emerging markets. Price cuts and aggressive channel promotions of legacy models, like iPhone 8, iPhone XR and iPhone Xs, have paid dividends in emerging markets. Apple’s new iPhone SE model, with its lower pricing and larger retail presence, will increase shipments in these regions even further.

While Apple’s hardware business is having a difficult time, the company’s services business continues to grow due to the fact that people are stuck at home and consume much more content on their mobile devices.

We expect Apple’s smartphone business performance in Q2 2020 to be soft, before stabilizing in the second half of 2020.