According to IDC‘s Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker, vendors shipped a total of 355.2 million smartphones worldwide in the third quarter of 2015, up 6.8% from the 332.6 million units in the third quarter of 2014. “The third quarter placed a substantial emphasis on flagship devices as vendors tried to outclass each other in both features and design – said Anthony Scarsella, research manager, Mobile Phones -. New flagship models translated to fiercer competition at the high-end for most players as many will try to challenge both Samsung and Apple for a place among the elite. However, despite the glitz and glamour at the high-end, we still expect the bulk of volume and growth to once again sprout from low to mid-range handsets, particularly in emerging markets”.
As regards to the vendors, IDC explains that Samsung once again remained the overall leader in the worldwide smartphone market with 84.5 million units shipped, up 6.1% from last year. Apple, Huawei, Lenovo and Xiaomi respectively follow in the ranking.