IDC: Global Smartphone Shipments Reach 1.35 Billion Units in 2021

An International Data Corporation (IDC) report shows that global smartphone shipments reached 1.35 billion units throughout 2021. This figure is up 5.74% year-on-year (YoY) compared to the same period the previous year, which saw 1.28 billion units shipped.

Samsung topped the list as the electronics company with the highest global smartphone shipments in 2021, shipping 272 million units. This is a 6% YoY increase compared to the same period last year, which saw 256.6 million units shipped.

Apple ranked second with 235.7 million smartphone shipments. This is a 15.88% YoY increase compared to 2020's 203.4 million units.

Next, Xiaomi shipped 191 million smartphones worldwide. The Chinese company recorded a 29.22% year-on-year growth.

OPPO and vivo followed with smartphone shipments of 133.5 million units and 128.3 million units, respectively. The growth in shipments for these two brands was recorded at 20.05% and 14.86% YoY, respectively.

Nabila Popal, Research Director of IDC's Mobility and Consumer Device Trackers, said that global smartphone shipments experienced supply constraints in the middle of last year. However, she continued, companies are optimistic that pent-up demand for smartphones will drive the market towards healthy growth this year.