Samsung Electronics’ revenge in the smartphone segment according to the results of the first quarter of this year was already noted by Korean sources, but IDC statistics at the beginning of this week confirmed these results. First, the smartphone market returned to growth with an annual increase of 8.4%. Secondly, Samsung is once again the largest seller, overtaking Apple for second place after a few months.

According to IDC, 289.4 million smartphones were sold worldwide in the first quarter of this year; This is 7.8% more than the same period last year. The segment has not yet overcome all the problems, but this is already the third consecutive quarter of growth, and therefore IDC representatives consider it possible to talk more confidently about the market recovery. Under these conditions, sales are growing faster among the market leaders, but based on the first quarter results this statement can be considered fair, with reservations.

Although Samsung ranked first with a 20.8% share and 60.1 million smartphone deliveries compared to the same period last year, it reduced its product delivery volume by 0.7%. Apple suffered even greater losses on a yearly basis, reducing its shipments by 9.6% to 50.1 million smartphones and reducing its market share from 20.7% to 17.3%. At the same time, Xiaomi, which ranked third with 14.1% of the market, increased its delivery volume by 33.8%, reaching 40.8 million smartphones. Chinese Transsion ranked fourth with 28.5 million smartphones and a 9.9% market share, instantly increasing its shipments by 84.9% during the year.

OPPO is in the top five, but this brand reduced its smartphone shipment volume by 8.5% to 25.2 million units, and its share does not exceed 8.7%. According to IDC analysts, in the near future, Samsung and Apple will continue to maintain their leading positions in the smartphone market, but the balance of power in the following positions will constantly change. But even Apple and Samsung will have to make efforts to maintain the first two places in the ranking, and for this you need to constantly offer customers something new.

IDC analysts confirm the upward trend in the average selling price of smartphones. Consumer logic in this case is simple: they are ready to use purchased devices for a longer time and therefore prefer to pay a little extra for higher specifications that will remain relevant longer. Meanwhile, manufacturers outside the top five account for 29.3% of the smartphone market, and their shipments in the first quarter increased 7.2% compared to the previous year.