According to the latest research from Strategy Analytics Device Technologies service, China’s rapid adoption of 5G technology is powering demand for 5G smartphones. Apple and the domestic trio of OPPO, Vivo and Xiaomi benefitted most as the demand exploded. Oppo, Vivo and Xiaomi closed on Apple capturing 16%, 14% and 12% global market share in the quarter respectively.
Global 5G smartphone shipments soared 458% YoY from 24.0 million units in Q1 2020 to a record 133.9 million in Q1 2021. Huge demand in China, a strong push from Apple iPhone, and a wave of value priced Android models fueled a record quarter for 5G smartphone shipments.
We estimate Apple shipped a record 40.4 million 5G iPhones worldwide in Q1 2021, building on its strong performance of 52 million shipments globally in Q4 2020. Apple iPhone is the clear 5G leader with a 30% 5G smartphone market share globally in the quarter. Apple iPhone 12 5G is proving wildly popular across China, Europe and the United States, due to its sleek hardware design and surprisingly competitive pricing.
We estimate OPPO captured 16% global 5G smartphone market share in Q1 2021, more than doubling its share from 7% in Q1 2020. OPPO has leapt ahead of domestic competitors Vivo and Xiaomi, taking advantage of Huawei’s collapse in 5G smartphones to capture share. OPPO’s A55 5G and Reno 5 5G have become hugely popular in China. We estimate that Vivo increased its global 5G smartphone share in Q1 2021, up 646% YoY on volumes of 19.4 million, taking 3rd place in global 5G smartphone shipments for the quarter.
We estimate that Samsung shipped 17.0 million 5G smartphones globally in Q1 2021, up from 8.3 million in Q1 2020. Samsung holds a 13% market share in 5G smartphone shipments globally in Q1 2021, down from 35% in Q1 2020. The surge in 5G volumes in China, allied with the Apple factor inevitably had a negative impact on share despite impressive product diversity from Samsung in 5G. Xiaomi rounded out the top-5 global 5G smartphone vendors on volumes of 16.6 million 5G smartphones shipped, up from 2.5 million in Q1 2020. Xiaomi captured a 12% share of the global 5G smartphone market in Q1 2021.
Exhibit 1: Global 5G Smartphone Shipments & marketshare by Top-5 vendors[1]
Clients of Strategy Analytics’ Device Technologies service can access our 5G smartphone research here.