Smartphone Sales Grew 9% in Q1

SAN FRANCISCO—Smartphone sales improved in the first quarter as the Chinese handset makers increased their market share and consumers continue to demonstrate that they would spend more for a better phone, increasing average selling prices (ASPs), according to market research firm Gartner Inc.

Smartphone sales totaled 380 million worldwide in the first quarter, up 9.1 percent compared to the first quarter of 2016, Gartner (Stamford, Conn.) said.

Chinese brands Huawei, Oppo and Vivo combined to capture nearly 24 percent of the market in the first quarter, up from about 17 percent in the same period of 2016, according to Gartner.

Worldwide first quarter smartphone sales by vendor (in thousands of units).

Gupta said aggressive marketing and sales promotion have helped these brands take share from other brands in markets such as India, Indonesia and Thailand.

South Korea's Samsung remained the global leader in smartphone market share with close to 21 percent in the first quarter despite a 3 percent year-over-year decline in sales, according to Gartner. Second-ranked vendor Apple's market share slipped about 1 percentage point to slightly less than 14 percent, according to the firm.

Gupta said both Samsung and Apple are facing increasingly fierce competition from the Chinese vendors. Apple's performance in the China market is also "under attack," Gupta added.

Smartphone sales increased by about 6 percent last year, slowing and creating fears of market saturation following years of more robust growth.