“According to new figures from Strategy Analytics, global smartphone shipments this year have fallen three percent compared with the first quarter of 2015, down from 345 million units to 334.6 million,” Liam Tung reports or ZDNet. “‘It is the first time ever since the modern smartphone market began in 1996 that global shipments have shrunk on an annualized basis,’ said Linda Sui, director at the analyst firm.”
“Samsung remains the biggest smartphone vendor in the world, with a 23.6 percent share of global shipments, according to Strategy Analytics. Samsung’s global shipments fell four percent year on year, from 82.7 million units in Q1 2015 to 79 million in Q1 2016,” Tung reports. “That decline isn’t as drastic as Apple’s 16 percent year on year fall from 51.2 million units a year ago to 61.2 million units in Q1 2016.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: There are two ways to look at this: Apple’s iPhone slowdown was due to “smartphone saturation” or Apple’s underwhelming “S” year iPhones were in large part responsible for the overall smartphone market’s shrinkage.
Apple should strive to execute annual iPhone updates, in three display sizes if the SE is successful (which we think it will be), and drop the off-year “S” model concept. Apple is certainly big enough and rich enough to do a new iPhone family each and every year. Apple should have killed the tock year “S” model idea years ago.
Why have an annual iPhone upgrade program, if you’re not going to wow us annually with new iPhones? — MacDailyNews Take, April 12, 2016
SEE ALSO:
The iPhone 6s has been a major disappointment for Apple – April 27, 2016
Analyst: Apple to dump ‘iPhone 7s’ and jump straight to iPhone 8 next year – April 22, 2016
Analyst cuts Apple price target, says ‘iPhone 7’ doesn’t look like a must-have upgrade – April 20, 2016
Why the 2017 iPhone will be made of Liquidmetal – April 18, 2016
Ming-Chi Kuo: Apple’s 2017 iPhone to feature new ‘all glass’ enclosure – April 18, 2016
75 percent of teens say their next phone will be an iPhone – April 13, 2016
Mossberg: Apple’s iPhone 7 had better be spectacular – March 23, 2016
They should have all lines simplified. They don’t have Macbook 11S or 12. They just have Macbook, Air, Pro. They should streamline products iPad mini, iPad Air, Pro, iPhone mini, iPhone Air and iPhone Pro. iOS should just be iOS with new features announced quarterly. Mac OS should just be updated regularly with dramatic features introduced at product events throughout the year. JMO
Yes indeed ! They have to streamline and release new features every quarter thus introducing some kind of continuous release cycle ……..I don’t think the smartphone market share is shrinking they are plenty of people still with feature phones and lots of outdated smartphones. I think analyst are panicking this is pure speculation.
Or maybe the anomaly that was massive sales of Apple’s first phone larger than 4″ due to huge pent-up demand could not be matched by the following generation.
So the market declined but only Apple is doooooomed. Got it.
A rose by any other name…. The”S” isn’t the problem. They should have just made an upgrades and forgotten the “S”.
3D Touch hasn’t wowed developers so it’s a dud until they “get it”
The camera is fabulous, Live pictures underwhelm.
We need waterproofing, phones that don’t need a case to protect them, phone cases that can change color depending on your mood or choice, wireless charging and an iOS that just works again, no more silly bugs.
No one want to buy a smart phone that is just like every other smart phone. No excitement, no interest, no sales. Apple and Samsung share the same problem – lack of innovation, lack of leadership. It’s the same old, same old.