According to a study by Gartner, global smartphone sales grew at a slower pace of 13.5 per cent from 290.38 million units in the quarter ended June 2014 to 329.67 million units for the corresponding quarter in 2015. According to the research firm, the slow growth was on account of declining sales in China.

The demand for lower-cost 3G and 4G smartphones continued to drive growth in emerging markets. By contrast, smartphone sales in China declined year-on-year, for the first time, by 4 per cent. As China accounts for 30 per cent of the global smartphone sales its poor performance negatively affected the performance of the global mobile phone market.

The total mobile handset market (feature and smartphones) grew marginally from 444.19 million units to 445.75 million units during the same period. Samsung led the total market with 19.9 per cent share, followed by Apple (10.8 per cent), Microsoft (6.2 per cent), Huawei (5.9 per cent), LG Electronics (4 per cent), Lenovo (3.7 per cent), Xiaomi (3.6 per cent), TCL Communication (3.5 per cent), ZTE (3.3 per cent) and Micromax (2.2 per cent).