As a result of Covid-19, global smartphone shipments this year will be 1.26 billion units, down 11 percent from last year, according to market research firm Strategy Analytics.
However, this is better than the 15.6 percent decline predicted earlier this year, as the impact of Covid-19 on smartphone shipments in the first half of the year was smaller than expected, the report said.
The outbreak and spread of the coronavirus hit the global smartphone market mainly in all continents, the research firm's analyst Linda Sui wrote in the report, adding that all major OEMs will experience a tough market and reduce smartphone shipments this year.
Samsung Electronics will ship 265 million phones this year and is expected to maintain its lead with a 21 percent market share. Apple will ship 192 million units and has a 15.3 percent share of the market.
Huawei, the second-largest mobile phone vendor last year, will slip to third place as the US ban exposes it to significant uncertainty. The report expects Huawei to ship 190 million units in 2020, giving it a 15.1 percent market share.
Strategy Analytics predicts that the Huawei's market share could plummet to 4.3 percent by the time it runs out of its chipset inventory in 2021.
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Other Chinese vendors Xiaomi, OPPO and Vivo will benefit from Huawei's steep market share drop next year, the report said.
The overall mobile phone market is likely to rebound on the back of new technologies such as 5G and foldable displays, as well as a recovering global economy.
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