Smartphone companies to ship 52 million devices in Q3

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Despite a supply crisis, chipset shortages, and logistical issues, the industry experts predict that smartphone makers will ship 50-52 million handsets in the July-September quarter. The quarterly shipment estimates are anticipated to reach the 47-49 million-unit level in pre-Covid 2019. This is fueled by a surge in people upgrading their handsets after a year or more of surviving the pandemic.

Prabhu Ram, head of CyberMedia Research’s industry intelligence group, said, “We anticipate a 6-10% increase in exports in 2020 compared to 2019. Consumer demand for recently announced premium flagships is high, and OEMs (original equipment manufacturers) are attempting to overcome supply bottlenecks.”

Around 50-52 million units will be shipped in the July-September quarter (Q3), up from 47.2 million units two years ago. Although the amount is lower than the 54 million devices sold last year, Ram describes it as a “marginal decline in shipments in year-on-year terms.” The high figures from last year were also attributed to a post-lockdown shopping spree.

Due to supply chain challenges and launch delays of products like the JioPhone Next, Reliance Industries’ 4G smartphone created in collaboration with Google, the July-September quarter would have beaten 2020’s record.

Prachir Singh, senior research analyst at Counterpoint Research, said the company had expected 3 million units of Jio Phone Next to hit the markets in September. The market tracking firm pegs handset shipments of around 50 million in the third quarter of 2021 compared with 34 million in the previous three months, 53.1 million units a year earlier and 49 million in Q3, 2019.

Counterpoint Research senior research analyst Prachir Singh said the business estimated 3 million Jio Phone Next handsets to hit the market in September. According to the market research organisation, handset shipments would total over 50 million in the third quarter of 2021, up from 34 million in the previous three months, 53.1 million a year ago, and 49 million in the third quarter of 2019.

Canalys, a market research group, forecasts 90-95 million shipments between July and December, up from 85 million units in the same period last year.

Furthermore, the consumer electronics sector has been paralysed by the Covid-induced economic crisis, a year of chipset shortages, and import restrictions at Chinese airports and seaports. According to Counterpoint Research, the year will end with roughly 190 smartphone launches, down from at least 207 in 2020.