Strategy Analytics figures showed shipments of 5G smartphones in Q1 surpassed the number shipped throughout the whole of 2019, with China driving demand.
In a statement, the research company said 24.1 million units were shipped in the quarter, compared with 18.7 million throughout 2019. China emerged as the leader with regards to demand, despite the effects of Covid-19 (coronavirus), followed by South Korea, the US and Europe.
Neil Mawston, executive director at Strategy Analytics, said demand in China reflected “the speed with which Chinese operators have rolled out 5G networks”, and its success was even more significant considering large parts of the country were shut down during the period due to the pandemic.
“As China continues to ramp up economic activity, we expect 5G
shipments to this market to continue to expand dramatically in 2020,” he
added.
Samsung led the charge with 8.3 million units shipped for a 34.4 per cent market share. Huawei, including sub-brand Honor, also had considerable success, amassing a 33.2 per cent share with 8 million units moved.
The top five was completed by Chinese players Vivo, Xiaomi and Oppo, which shipped 2.9 million, 2.5 million and 1.2 million units respectively.
Ville-Petteri Ukonaho, associate director at Strategy Analytics, put Samsung’s leading position down to strong global distribution networks, operator partnerships and new models released in the period, including the S20 5G and S20 Ultra 5G. Mobileworldlive
