Worldwide smartphone shipments decreased 11.7% year-on-year in the first quarter of 2020 (Q1 2020), according to a new report from the International Data Corporation (IDC).

Smartphone companies shipped a total of 275.8 million units in Q1 2020. And even though the first quarter has been reporting a sequential decline over the last three years, this year’s has been the largest ever.

The plummet comes as no surprise as it had been predicted by many outlets in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the rise in lockdowns in China, which then extended to the rest of the world.

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According to the report, China received the biggest regional hit in the quarter, whose shipments dropped by 20.3% year over year. This obviously saw a huge impact on the global market since China holds almost a quarter of worldwide shipments.

The severe hit on China also had everyone fear for the future seeing that most of the companies have their units made there.

Big Fish, Big Declines

Samsung did dominate the market with 58.3 million smartphones shipped in Q1 2020. This is a regain to its top position with a 21.1% share despite an 18.9% year-over-year decline. Out of the total, the A series did see a huge success despite the expectations placed on its premium 5G flagship, the Galaxy S20. However, the higher price of the S20 did help grow profits according to Samsung.

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Surprisingly, Huawei grabbed second place with a 17.8% share of the global smartphone market. This is despite a 17.1% decline year-on-year decline. Apple, on the other hand, dropped to third place with 36.7 million units shipped in the quarter accounting for a 13.3% share. The American company was lucky enough to see the lowest decline of only 0.4% year-on-year. This was owed hugely to the continued success of the iPhone 11 series.

The Outliers

As these major companies saw drops in the global market share, the underdogs have reportedly been making strides in some of the world’s biggest markets.

Xiaomi saw a 6.1% growth, surpassing 10% market share for the first time. Vivo also made a comeback to the top 5 tier with a 9% market share and 7% year-over-year growth rate. Reportedly, India has been a key driver for the success of both companies with mid-range and low-end of their devices selling the most.