Mobile Shipments Again Growing, But is Plateau in Sight?

Global smartphone shipment totals edged upward in the second quarter, says mobile, tablet and PC data research company Canalys in a recent report. But that growth is slower than before and could be headed for a plateau, he firm suggests.

Update – Smartphone Market Q2 2016

Canalys said that the worldwide smartphone market grew by almost a percent in Q2 of 2016 to reach over 330 million units. Samsung leads the pack with the highest number of shipments having sold over 80 million units. “The success of the Galaxy S7 together with a de-emphasis on the low end of its portfolio has led to a rise in handset ASP,” Canalys Senior Analyst Tim Coulling said. “Samsung’s VR move has proved a wise one, with Gear VR bundles helping boost flagship handset sales.”

Samsung shipment doubled that of Apple who shipped about 40 million iPhones in the second quarter. This is Apple’s second consecutive annual decline in shipments and the launch of the iPhone SE has not really turned the tide for the tech giant. “Shipments in intended growth markets, such as China and India, saw little improvement as the price of the device kept it out of reach of the mass market, which typically sees strong shipments,” said Canalys Analyst Rushabh Doshi. “Consumers instead opted for local vendors, whose build quality and specifications are a better value alternative.”

Following closely in third place is Huawei. According to Canalys, the Chinese multinational networking and telecommunications equipment and services company, has had an excellent start to 2016 having shipped about 31 million phones. The company has a huge market in China and continued growth in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. “Huawei has had an excellent start to 2016, with its leadership position in China helping the global picture,” said Coulling. “Despite this strong start, it will need to continue breaking shipment records and improve its position in the U.S. if it is to surpass its annual shipment target of 140 million units.”

Could the stagnating shipment numbers be a sign of having reached a plateau like the one reached by the PC market? If that’s the case, then small business owners as well as marketers that have concentrated on web based and mobile based marketing might soon have to make a shift to another platform should it emerge.

But what might the next big platform be?

Smartphone Assembly Photo via Shutterstock