Reputed smartphone manufacturer Samsung has been reported
to have reclaimed the top position in the global market in the third quarter of 2020 (3Q20).
Preliminary data documented by the International Data Corporation (IDC) and Canalys on
October, 2020, show that the South Korean company holds the lion’s share in the market with
22.7% of the total stake in their possession, after shipping 80.4 million smartphones over the
given period. This is an increase of 2.9% year over year.

India and the USA are the top two markets for Samsung smartphones. The freshly launched
Samsung M series and A series handsets played the game-changing trick for the manufacturer,
ultimately resulting in a close to 40% growth year over year. Note20 and Note20 Ultra were
also two major market sensations, which boosted Samsung’s popularity in a market that had
rather been slow and demotivating due to the COVID-19 crisis over the previous few months.
“While some of the topline numbers may not seem pretty, we see a lot of improvement in the
smartphone market both in terms of supply chains and consumer demand,” said Ryan Reith,
Program Vice President with IDC’s Worldwide Mobile Device Trackers. “In the large developed
markets, it is very clear that 5G will be positioned to most consumers as their next phone
regardless of which brand or price point, they are focused on. Marketing has ramped up
significantly. Products are widely available. Promotions are happening. And it’s clear that the
top sales initiative in these markets is to push 5G. Having said this, we still believe consumer
demand for 5G is minimal at best, which only adds to the price pressure on channels and
OEMs.”

“Samsung suffered in Q2 due to its dependence on offline retail, but Q3 saw a major recovery”,
said Shengtao Jin, Analyst from Canalys. “Its momentum was fueled by three key factors. Firstly,
in many regions it saw pent-up demand from Q2 spill over into Q3. Secondly, it regained second
place in India, as its Korean brand was shielded from anti-Chinese sentiment. Thirdly, Samsung
ramped up its launches of low-to-mid-range devices, and introduced other incentives, such as
discounts and free online deliveries, to stimulate demand.”

The second and third places in the global ranking for 3Q20 smartphone market share are
respectively secured by Chinese brands Huawei and Xiaomi. IDC stats show Huawei to hold
14.7% and Xiaomi to hold 13.1% of total market shares. Almost similar data has been projected
by Canalys as well. IDC is a provider of data regarding global market intelligence, advisory
services, and events for the information technology, telecommunications, and consumer
technology markets. Canalys is another independent company which delivers smart market
insights to IT, channel and service provider professionals for better guidance to the future of
the tech industry.