Global smartphone shipments in 2020 were down 8.8% compared to 2019: report

Global smartphone shipments witnessed a considerable drop in the pandemic-ravaged year of 2020. According to a newly released report, the global smartphone market dropped by 8.8% as compared to 2019, with a total of 1.24 billion units shipped.

As per details from the report compiled by Digitimes Research, the ongoing global COVID-19 pandemic greatly affected the demand and supply of smartphones in 2020, with the largest dip coming in the first quarter when shipments went down by 20% on a yearly basis.

Samsung, Apple and Huawei were the three leading smartphone manufacturers in 2020 followed by Xiaomi, Oppo and Vivo.

Apple and Xiaomi were the only two companies that saw an increase in shipments of over 10% compared to the prior year while Samsung and Huawei faced double-digit drops. Apple, of course, saw its flagship iPhone 12 gain unprecedented popularity due to its 5G offering. 81% of US carrier store reps surveyed claimed that 5G was a “major factor” in driving the iPhone 12’s early sales!

In fact, the adoption of and enthusiasm over 5G technology has been the one bright spot this past year. An incredible 280-300 million 5G devices were shipped in 2020, as compared to the approximately 20 million units shipped in 2019.