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Global smartphone sales fell for a fourth consecutive quarter until September, suggesting a tough market for appliance manufacturers waiting for catalysts to boost sales, researchers said.
A report released by research firm IDC at the end of November 1 reported 355 million handsets delivered in the third quarter, down 6 percent from a year earlier.
"IDC maintains its view of the return of market growth in 2019, but it is too early to say what this growth will look like," the report said.
A separate survey by Strategy Analytics showed an 8% drop in sales to 360 million units.
"The global smartphone market has been declining for four consecutive quarters and is indeed in recession," said Linda Sui, director of Strategy Analytics.
"The smart phone industry is struggling to accept the very heavy operator subsidies, longer replacement rates, inventories in many regions and the lack of exciting innovation in hardware design."
According to Strategy Analytics, the 46.9 million units sold by Apple on the iPhone suggest that the California giant is focusing on rising prices, thus limiting global growth in its volumes.
Samsung remains the leading provider with just over 20% of sales, according to both surveys.
The Chinese company Huawei is in second place with more than 14% and Apple remains the third with about 13%.
The fourth and fifth largest, respectively, were Chinese device manufacturers Xiaomi and Oppo.
The researchers said that a slowdown in China was a major factor in the decline in global sales, while noting that the market could pick up next year, manufacturers introducing new devices compatible with networks without high-speed 5G or fifth generation wire.
"The Chinese domestic market continues to struggle as global consumer spending around smartphones has declined," said Ryan Reith, vice president of IDC's program.
"Despite this, we believe that this market will begin to recover in 2019 and beyond, fueled in the short term by a broad refresher cycle implemented in all segments, as well as in the final years of the forecast supported by the 5G migration. "- AFP
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