Love to play computer games On January 31, it was reported that IDC recently released the fourth quarter of 2018 (2018 Q4) global smartphone shipment report, and combined with the previous three quarters, it summarized a 2018 smartphone manufacturer shipment ranking list. It can be seen that the total shipments of smart phone manufacturers in the fourth quarter of 2018 were 375.4 million units, down 4.9% year on year, the fifth consecutive quarter of decline.

It is reported that globally, the top five smartphone manufacturers continue to grow, accounting for 69% of the market, up from 63% a year ago. Vivo is currently ranked sixth. In recent quarters, Vivo has moved in and out of the top five. If Vivo is included, the top six manufacturers account for 75% of the total, and they are still growing. Although the market generally faces many serious challenges, the biggest challenge is the continued loss of market and self positioning of some brands.

Samsung's shipments in the fourth quarter of 2018 dropped 5.5% year on year, and a total of 70.4 million smartphones were sold. Although it was enough to maintain its top position in the quarter, its market share again fell below 20%, to 18.7%, only a few percentage points higher than Apple and Huawei. Samsung's annual situation was not much better. In 2018, its shipments fell by 8%, leaving 292.3 million units. Next, major manufacturers will successively launch 5G mobile phones to see if Samsung has enough ability to withstand new competition and maintain its first position in the market.

Although Apple launched three new models, iPhone shipments in the fourth quarter of 2018 fell by 11.5%, ranking the second in the world. The annual shipments of iPhones fell by 3.2%, also ranking the second in the world, mainly because the two largest mobile phone markets in the world (the United States and China) both experienced the worst year ever for smartphones. In 2019, Apple does not plan to release 5G mobile phones, so Apple needs a new iPhone that is powerful enough. Otherwise, it will soon be overtaken by Huawei.

Huawei continues to maintain a strong momentum in some markets. In the fourth quarter of 2018, it increased by 43.9% year on year, while its total shipments in 2018 increased by 33.6%, ranking third in the world. Huawei's Glory brand has made great progress. Glory accounts for nearly half of Huawei's total shipments. Huawei's shipments in the Chinese market account for about half of its global smartphone business. However, Huawei has set foot in almost all international markets and achieved growth in 2018, so the previous proportion is declining.

OPPO ranked fourth in the fourth quarter of 2018 and fifth in the whole year, while Xiaomi was the opposite. Indonesia and India are the two most important markets for OPPO and Xiaomi besides China, so the competition between these two brands is fierce in these countries. OPPO also launched its sub brand Realme in India, focusing on cost performance.

IDC believes that 2018 is the worst year in the history of smart phones so far. In 2018, the global sales of smart phones dropped by 4.1%, and the annual shipments totaled 1.4 billion units. This market situation will continue until the first quarter of 2019, and the market shipments in 2019 may continue to decline. The emergence of some 5G phones will not strongly promote the situation.

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