Nokia Mobile, or HMD Global if you’ll, was pleased to see the growing popularity of Nokia phones in markets around the world. According to data released by IDC, Nokia phones are back in the top 5 smartphone companies in 23 markets in Q2 2022. This is an increase of over 17% compared to the same quarter last year, when Nokia phones were in the top 5 in 19 markets. IDC doesn’t specify in which markets Nokia phones managed to break into the top 5 list, but their recent strategy of offering affordable and well-built phones has proven successful.
Well, the smartphone market has changed a lot in the last 5 years and some major players left the mid-range segment and made way for others. Nokia Mobile took advantage of this opportunity. The company changed its entire strategy and left the upper smartphone segment in favour of the mid-range and entry-level segment, where it can offer the values of cell phones that Nokia is known for as a brand. Durability and a long battery life seem to be important for the general population that is not that interested in hardware specifications.
Counterpoint Q12022
IDC isn’t the only one reporting good smartphone share numbers. Counterpoint also said that Nokia phones saw an increase in the Q12022 shipments when compared to the same period last year. However, we have been monitoring the data for years and saw some discrepancies in the results.
Here are the results sent by Counterpoint for Q12022.
- HMD’s global smartphone shipments grew 126% YoY to 3 mn units in Q1 2022.
- Consequently, it jumped to No. 13 in the top smartphone OEM ranking in Q1 2022 up from no. 14 last quarter and no. 17 in the same quarter last year.
- Its share of the global smartphone market went up to almost 1%, up from just over 0.75% last quarter and under 0.5% in the same quarter last year.
- HMD’s global handset shipments grew 42% YoY to 12.24 mn units in Q1 2022. It retained its top 10 handset ranking despite slipping one place due to a 2% QoQ shipment decline.
- Its share of the global handset market fell slightly to about 3.2%, down from 3.3% last quarter, but up from under 2.7% in Q2 2021.
IDC is not the only one reporting good smartphone share numbers. Counterpoint also reports that Nokia phone shipments were up in Q12022 compared to the same period last year.
These results look very good for Nokia Mobile and the Nokia smartphone brand. However, looking at the results for Q1 2021 (last year), something curious stands out. HMD’s handset shipments declined 19% quarter-over-quarter and nearly 8% year-over-year, reaching nearly 13 million units in Q1 2021, while smartphone shipments grew 17% year-over-year, reaching nearly 2 million units. For Q1 2022, HMD is expected to grow 42% to reach 12.24 million units in Q1 2022. It seems that more phones are shipped in 2021 according to Counterpoint data, but there is a 42% year-on-year growth in 2022.
Either way, the important thing is the increase. We reached Counterpoint and asked for the elaboration of the discrepancy but still haven’t got an answer.
Tipped by Thomas Verbaken, thank you!