iPhone shipments could have reached record levels in Q1 2020 were it not for COVID-19: Gartner
According to analytics company Gartner, the smartphone industry experienced its worst decline ever in the first three months of the year because of the pandemic. With the exception of Xiaomi, all top 5 vendors saw their shipments slide during the quarter.
Apple could have beaten Huawei in Q1 if things were different
Overall, sales slumped 20 percent year over year in Q1 2020 to 299 million units. Samsung saw a steep decline of nearly 23 percent when compared to the same period last year. Part of the reason is its inefficient online channel. The silver lining here is that the decline could have been a lot worse if Samsung had a prominent presence in China. With total shipments of 55 million units, the company remained the top vendor in Q1.
Apple is already within striking distance of the number 2 spot and maybe if things were normal, it would have surpassed Huawei in Q1.
Xiaomi’s sales increased 1.4 percent from January through March and Gartner attributes that to robust shipments of Redmi phones in global markets and a strong online presence.
Gartner had previously said that it expects smartphone shipments to decrease by 14.6 percent this year.
Estimated Q1 2020 smartphone sales