Smartphone sales stalled globally in the fourth quarter of 2018

According to a report, smartphone sales stalled globally by the fourth quarter of 2018. Sales only grew by about 0.1 percent than the sales of the fourth quarter of 2017.

In the research done by Gartner, one of the leading research and advisory company, noted that the demand for high-end smartphones slowed down, as opposed to the strong demand for entry-level and mid-range smartphones. Factors that lead to consumers apprehensive about high-end smartphones were price increases and slow innovations.

Apple experienced the biggest decline among smartphone companies in the top five. Over the year, Apple’s sales declined about 11.8 percent, with the iPhone demand weakening in most regions apart from North America and the Asia/Pacific. Samsung‘s Galaxy S9 series and Note 9 struggled as well.

In 2018, Xiaomi and Huawei grabbed more market shares than Apple and Samsung. Huawei sold over 60 million smartphones in the fourth quarter of 2018, leading them to achieve the strongest growth among the top five smartphone companies.

Source: Gartner