The results show that smartphone shipments jumped to 1.3 billion units in 2021, an increase of 3.4% compared to 2020. The industry reached this figure even with a 6.7% reduction in Q4 2021 sales. Samsung dominated the shipments throughout 2021, experiencing a 5.9% year-over-year (YoY) growth. Despite coming in at #6, manufacturer Realme witnessed the highest YoY growth of 48.6%, with Motorola registering 44.2% growth in shipments compared to 2020. Omdia notes (via GSM Arena) that LG’s departure from the mobile industry has benefited Motorola.
Q4 2021 results were firmly in favor of Apple, thanks to the iPhone 13
Apple dominated the Q4 2021 shipments chart, spurred by the release of the iPhone 13. Samsung is in second place with a marginal 0.1% dip in shipments from the previous quarter. However, the South Korean manufacturer still witnessed an 11.5% YoY growth. Omdia points out that the “big three” Chinese companies, namely Xiaomi, OPPO, and vivo, have witnessed quarterly (Q4 2021) and annual declines in shipments. “Lack of components supply had a relatively greater impact on the production of low-end smartphones, leading to a decrease in shipments of these OEMs. This is still ongoing and is expected to exist as a risk factor for the smartphone market this year,” Principal Analyst at Omdia, Zaker Li, said. Maker of low-cost smartphones, Tecno, saw a 31.7% growth compared to 2020. The company predominantly sells its products in developing markets and has been immensely successful so far. While the results are encouraging for most manufacturers, companies like Huawei lost big. The company’s shipments fell by 81.6% from 2020. By most estimates, the semiconductor industry could face more shortages this year. Samsung’s poor showing in Q4 2021 could be attributed to the delay in the launch of the Galaxy S21 FE. The smartphone was initially scheduled to break cover by Q3 2021. However, the chip shortages meant Samsung couldn’t release it until January 2022.
