Sales of smartphones around the world in the first quarter rose 3.9% year-on-year to 349 million, according to US-based research firm Gartner.
South Korea’s Samsung continued to dominate the market, with 23.2%, followed by US tech giant Apple (14.8%), China’s Huawei (8.3%), Oppo (4.6%) and Xiaomi (4.3%), the report said, adding that the combined share of the three Chinese companies rose over 6% from the previous year.
Individually, Oppo’s quarterly sales jumped 145% year-on-year—the highest of all those monitored—due to its success in attracting consumers with handsets in the $300 market segment, the report said.
Apple saw its market share fall by 3.1% year-on-year after reporting a double-digit decline in sales for the first quarter, it said.
Gartner's estimates show that just 2.4 million Windows Phone devices were sold in the first quarter, giving Microsoft a measly 0.7% share of the market. That's down from 2.5% in Q1 2015 and less than the 1.6% IDC expected the firm to have by the yearend.
This blow comes just weeks after analyst outfit Kantar Worldpanel ComTech revealed that Windows Phone now holds less than 5% of the European market and that all the firm's future hopes ride on the long-rumored Surface Phone devices, according to the Inquirer.
Gartner also estimated that Canadian phone maker BlackBerry claimed just 0.2% of sales in Q1, down from 0.4% in 2015. Samsung remains the number one brand in Iran, but it has taken a hit in recent quarters from cheaper Chinese brands that offer same features at a lower price point and appeal to most Iranians shopping on a budget.
