The 3 analytical firms with the greatest authority in the Smartphone industry have published their respective report on mobile shipments throughout 2019 and the last quarter of this. Research conducted by  Canalys, Counterpoint and Strategy Analytics  indicates that Samsung retained its position as the number brand in terms of number of shipments, followed by Huawei, which surprisingly performed well despite its unfavorable trade situation with the United States. This situation has forced the company to ship its latest mobiles without Google services, something that could discourage many customers from purchasing its products. 

In this vein, Apple is now in third place, effectively being displaced by Huawei during 2019 . In fourth place we will find Xiaomi , who, beyond the boom in social media memes, has also experienced strong annual growth and increased market share.  

Image via Counterpoint Research

Oppo  has managed to sneak into the fifth place of the top, being followed by Vivo and Lenovo in sixth and seventh place, respectively. LG has positioned itself as the eighth manufacturer from the top and, to the surprise of many, we have a new contender in the ninth rung: Realme, a brand on the rise and with less than 2 years in the business, something commendable. 

Image via Canalys

Smartphones shipments during the fourth quarter of 2019 : Smartphone shipments in 2019, Samsung remains in the top 1 and Huawei surpasses Apple

Regarding the fourth quarter of 2019, this was led by Apple, which led the shipments of Smartphones with 78.4 million units, thus achieving an annual growth of 9%. In second place is Samsung, which closely follows the American company with a 19.2% market share and 70.8 million units shipped.  

These latest figures are provided by  Canalys , which differ from the figures offered by  Counterpoint , but  still  both firms place the brands in the same positions. 

Image via Counterpoint Research

On the other hand, Huawei suffered a decline in sales and therefore a drop in market share compared to last year . In this sense, the company shipped 56 million units and its annual growth was negative (-7%). As a result, the Chinese company is relegated to third place, but still retains a substantial advantage over Xiaomi, who remains in fourth place despite having experienced the largest annual growth on the list. 

On a different note, the three reports indicate  that,  despite individual gains, the smartphone market suffered a drop in shipments compared to 2018.  Counterpoint  highlights that this is the first time that the market has experienced a decline of this magnitude for two consecutive years.  

Image via Canalys

On top of that, the year 2020 is also challenging in view of the trade war between China and the United States coupled with the Coronavirus outbreak, which has potential negative implications for the supply chains of smartphone manufacturers in China (which constitute the majority).