Telecom
Samsung, Huawei Lead Smartphone Shipments Decline for the Fourth Consecutive Quarter
The preliminary data from the International Data Corporation (IDC) Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker shows that smartphone vendors shipped a total of 355.2 million units during the third quarter of 2018 (3Q18), resulting in a year-over-year decline of 6.0%.
This was the fourth consecutive quarter of year-over-year declines for the global smartphone market, which raises questions about the market’s future.
IDC maintains its view that the market will return to growth in 2019, but at this stage it is too early to tell what that growth will look like.
While the overall smartphone market has declined for four straight quarters, two things stand out as major factors in the third quarter.
Samsung, the largest smartphone vendor in terms of market share, accounting for 20.3% of shipments in 3Q18, declined 13.4% year over year in the quarter.
And secondly, China, which is the largest country market for smartphone consumption, accounting for roughly one third of global shipments, was down as well for the sixth consecutive quarter.
Samsung had a challenging quarter with shipments down 13.4% to 72.2 million units shipped.
The market share leader continues to feel pressure from all directions, especially with Huawei inching closer to the top after its second consecutive quarter as the number two vendor.
In addition, growing markets like India and Indonesia, where Samsung has held leading positions for many years, are being changed by the rapid growth of Chinese brands like Xiaomi, OPPO, and vivo.
Meanwhile, China’s domestic market, which represents roughly one third of all smartphones consumed, has been in decline since the second quarter of 2017, and 3Q18 was the sixth consecutive quarter where the market sees contraction.
China was down 11% in the first half of 2018 (1H18), and the challenges continued into 3Q18.
Overall IDC expects this decline to decelerate with the market returning to flat growth in 2019.
Ryan Reith, program vice president with IDC’s Worldwide Mobile Device Trackers, said “China’s domestic market continues to be challenged as overall consumer spending around smartphones has been down,”
“High penetration levels, mixed with some challenging economic times, has slowed the world’s largest smartphone market.
“Despite this, we believe this market will begin to recover in 2019 and beyond, driven in the short term by a large, built up refresh cycle across all segments, and in the outer years of the forecast supported by 5G migration.”
Anthony Scarsella, research manager with IDC’s Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker, said “The race at the top of the market continues to be a heated one as Huawei once again slipped past Apple to the second position,”
“Although Huawei may have beat out Apple in Q3, the holiday quarter could have Apple as the market leader thanks to the launch of three new bezel-less devices.
“No matter who leads in the overall market the holiday quarter should be an exciting one with a wide selection of new flagship devices available.
“With the new iPhones, Mate 20, Pixel 3, V40, Note 9, and OnePlus 6T, we can expect consumers will have a plethora of options when upgrade time approaches.
“The vast selection of high-priced handsets should move ASPs in a positive direction come next quarter.”
Smartphone Company highlights shows that Samsung had a very challenging quarter with smartphone shipments down 13.4% from 3Q17, with overall volumes of 72.2 million.
While this was still enough to maintain the top market share position, the company does continue to lose share.
The launch of the Galaxy Note 9 was successful and the device continues to build in shipments.
However, Samsung’s bigger challenge is the ground they are losing at the mid-range and low-end.
Recent announcements of revamping the product portfolio to bring new features and awareness to non-flagship models could possibly help this slide.
Samsung will most likely look to new A-Series devices to fill the gaps left in the mid-tier across numerous markets.
Huawei landed in the number two position for the second straight quarter. While its share was down slightly from last quarter’s 15.9%, overall the company should be pleased with shipping 52.0 million handsets and grabbing 14.6% of the overall market.
From a product perspective, its P-series and recent update to its Mate-series are keeping it as competitive as ever at the top of the market.
And its Honor brand, which is primarily marketed toward a younger audience and online sales, has continued to do well in many markets.
Apple’s newest iPhones helped push third quarter shipments to 46.9 million units, up 0.5% from the 46.7 million units last year.
Apple once again launched three new devices at its Fall event, as the new 6.5-inch iPhone XS Max and 5.8-inch iPhone XS were joined by the more affordable iPhone XR in the Apple line-up.
The new XS Max and XS continue off the success from last year’s iPhone X but bring a new screen size option with more power and increased performance to the table.
And Apple has once again improved the camera, upped the storage, and added a new faster processor via the A12 Bionic chip, which is the first 7-nanometer chip for Apple.
Older iPhones, such as the 6S, 7, and 8, all received price cuts late in the quarter, which will balance the iPhone portfolio across all price tiers for the holiday quarter.
The older SE and iPhone X from last year have been dropped from the Apple line-up. The fourth quarter will include shipments for the vastly popular iPhone XR, which have not been counted in IDC’s Q3 figures.
Xiaomi once again grew its share to a new company high capturing 9.7% of all smartphones shipped worldwide in 3Q18.
Xiaomi continues its global expansion with market share gains in countries where it has been growing it presence, including India and Indonesia, and making headway into European markets like Spain where it continues to cause disruption.
Its Redmi 5A, Redmi 5 Plus, and Redmi Note 5 have continued to do well, with the newer Redmi 6/A/Pro successors ramping up quickly.
OPPO like Samsung saw shipments decline year over year, although on a much smaller scale.
Despite that, OPPO remained the number 5 vendor in terms of market share with 29.9 million shipments in 3Q18, down 2.1% from a year ago.
Like a few of its competitors that continue to climb the smartphone ladder, OPPO is beginning to gain global attention for some of its newer flagship devices that have come with highly marketed launch events.
Designs on the Find X and R17 products are raising the bar for OPPO, and in return they are continuing to see their user ASPs increase.
Airtel Africa has grown its customer base by 9.0% to 169.4 million, with data customers increasing 17.4% to 75.6 million with focus on bridging the digital divide across her markets continues. According to the telecommunications operator’s financial results for the quarter ended June 30, 2025, which demonstrated strong growth across key metrics and a continued focus on expanding its services across its 14 African markets.
The operator reported a significant increase in revenue, reaching $1,415 million. This represents a 24.9% growth in constant currency and a 22.4% increase in reported currency, indicating a more stable macroeconomic environment in its operating regions and effective tariff adjustments, particularly in Nigeria.
The growth was broadly driven, with mobile services revenue increasing by 23.8% in constant currency. Data revenue showed exceptional performance, surging by 38.1%, while voice revenue grew by 13.9%. Mobile money services continued their strong upward trajectory, recording a 30.3% growth in constant currency. This was supported by accelerated growth in Francophone Africa (16.4% in constant currency) and continued strong performance in East Africa (20.3% in constant currency).
Airtel Africa’s profitability also saw a substantial uplift. EBITDA grew by 29.8% in reported currency to $679 million, with EBITDA margins expanding to 48.0% from 45.3% in the prior period. This margin expansion is attributed to sustained operating momentum, more stable fuel prices, and the ongoing benefits from cost efficiency programs.
Profit after tax saw a remarkable improvement, rising to $156 million compared to $31 million in the prior period. Basic Earnings Per Share (EPS) stood at 3.4 cents, a significant increase from 0.2 cents in the previous year, primarily reflecting higher operating profit in the current period and the absence of large derivative and foreign exchange losses that impacted the prior period.
Operational highlights further underscored the company’s growth. Airtel Africa’s total customer base expanded by 9.0% to 169.4 million. Data customers increased by 17.4% to 75.6 million, as the company intensified its efforts to bridge the digital divide. Mobile money customer base also grew by 16.1% to 45.8 million, with transaction value increasing by 28.7% in constant currency.
The company’s strategic focus on enhancing customer experience is supported by ongoing network investments. Over 2,300 new sites were rolled out, bringing the total to 37,579 sites, and the fiber network was expanded by 2,700 km, now exceeding 79,600 km. This investment has boosted data capacity across the region, with 4G population coverage reaching 74.7%, an increase of 3.4% year-on-year.
Airtel Africa continued its debt localization program, with almost 95% of its operating company debt (excluding lease liabilities) now in local currency, up from 86% a year ago, reducing foreign currency debt exposure. The company also confirmed it has returned $16.9 million to shareholders through its ongoing share buyback program as of June 30, 2025.
Sunil Taldar, chief executive officer, said: “We are very pleased with the strong growth in our operating and financial performance in the first quarter. The strength of this performance, and the scale of the growth we achieved, reflects the sustained demand for our services and the strength of our business model to meet these demands. Operationally, the acceleration in customer base growth to 9%, and 17.4% growth in our data customers to 75.6m reflects the strong on-ground execution with a relentless focus on digitisation and the simplification of the customer experience.”
Mr. Khalil Suleiman Halilu, executive vice chairman/ceo of the National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI), was honoured with the prestigious African Achievers Award at the 15th edition of the ceremony held at the historic House of Lords, UK Parliament, on July 11, 2025.
L-R: Founder, Startup Arewa, Mohammed Jega; Deputy Mayor of London for Environment and Energy Mete Coban; Executive Vice Chairman/CEO, National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI), Khalil Suleiman Halilu; and Special Adviser to the EVC on Commercialization, Engr. Anas Balarabe during the presentation of the prestigious African Achievers Award to Halilu at the House of Lords, UK Parliament recently.
The award, presented during an event that brought together royals, global leaders, policymakers, and innovators, recognized Mr. Halilu’s outstanding contributions to advancing Africa’s technological infrastructure, innovation ecosystems, and industrial growth through his leadership at NASENI.
Hosted by Baroness Sandip Verma, Chancellor of the University of Roehampton and a respected member of the House of Lords, the ceremony was a powerful global showcase of African excellence and transformative leadership. Mr. Halilu joined a distinguished group of honourees including public officials, business executives, and philanthropists shaping the future of the continent.
In his remarks, Mr. Halilu emphasized Africa’s readiness to lead in innovation, manufacturing, and sustainability.
“It is a great honour to receive this award alongside fellow visionaries committed to Africa’s future. At NASENI, we are bridging the gap between ambition and access, turning ideas into industries, empowering indigenous solutions, and driving forward Nigeria’s and Africa’s industrial transformation. Africa is not just rising, it is ready.”
Under his leadership, NASENI has been repositioned as Nigeria’s leading technology transfer agency, delivering on the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu by enabling local production in critical sectors such as clean energy, agriculture, transportation, and digital infrastructure.
Through strategic partnerships and an Accelerated Technology Transfer & Adaptation Strategy, NASENI is turning Nigeria into a hub for sustainable innovation and industrial self-reliance. Mr. Halilu extended appreciation to the organizers and supporters of the Awards:
“I thank the African Achievers Awards team, Baroness Sandip Verma, and all those across the continent and diaspora who continue to champion African solutions. This recognition is a motivation to do more and a reminder that the future we seek is one we must build ourselves.”
Now in its 15th year, the African Achievers Awards has become one of the most respected platforms spotlighting African leadership and excellence globally. This year’s edition included powerful messages from dignitaries such as King Misuzulu kaZwelithini, Queen Olori Atuwatse III, and Dr. Fatou Bensouda, reinforcing the urgency of building a united and future-facing African continent.
The award to Mr. Khalil Halilu reflects NASENI’s growing continental footprint and its mission to deliver homegrown technologies that respond to Africa’s real challenges, promote sustainable development, and accelerate industrialization across borders.
The 2025 edition of the Critical National Information Infrastructure (CNII) & Sustainability Conference has been rescheduled to hold on August 7, 2025, at CitiHeight Hotel, Ikeja, Lagos, following a shift from its earlier date of July 30.
The adjustment was made to accommodate a nationwide telecom stakeholders’ meeting convened by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC).
The CNII Conference, jointly organised by the Nigeria Information Technology Reporters Association (NITRA) and Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), seeks to address the implementation and awareness gaps surrounding the CNII Order, signed into law by the Federal Government in August 2024.
The law designates telecom infrastructure as Critical National Information Infrastructure, positioning it as a strategic asset vital to Nigeria’s economic and security framework. Industry groups including the Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria (ATCON) have thrown their weight behind the initiative.
Speaking on the new date, NITRA Chairman, Mr. Chike Onwuegbuchi, emphasised that the Act, though laudable, requires industry-wide collaboration and clear implementation strategy for tangible impact.
“The mere proclamation of CNII as an Act does not guarantee infrastructure safety. Stakeholders must address operational and standardisation gaps to make the law work,” he said.
ALTON Chairman, Engr. Gbenga Adebayo, also highlighted the need for regular maintenance and technology upgrades to curb vandalism and ensure infrastructure security.
Focus Areas of the Conference Include:
- Implementation mechanisms for the CNII Act.
- Stakeholders’ roles at federal, state, and industry levels.
- Security enforcement and public education.
- Infrastructure protection and sustainability.
- Collaboration and compliance across telecom companies.
Expected attendees include the Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, regulators, service providers, security agencies, and key players in public and private sectors.
The event is themed “Industry Sustainability And CNII Conference 2025 – Way Forward”, with panel discussions aimed at creating a unified approach to safeguarding Nigeria’s telecom infrastructure under the CNII provisions.
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