Oppo, OnePlus, and Realme together overtake Apple to rank second in global smartphone market

Despite the shakeup where Oppo overtook Apple in the global market for smartphones, Samsung continues to be the leader.

Oppo has emerged as the second-biggest smartphone brand in the world, overtaking Apple in terms of market share in the month of May. According to the latest report by Counterpoint Research for May 2021, Oppo, along with OnePlus and Realme, cornered an overall market share of 16 per cent, falling only a place behind Samsung, which is still the global leader in the smartphone market. Apple slipped to the third position with a 15 per cent market share, while Xiaomi, which recently outshone Apple to rank second in terms of shipments, came fourth with a 14 per cent share. The 16 per cent share includes OnePlus and Realme, which were carved out of Oppo to focus on different market strategies. OnePlus, which recently merged its research and development with its parent company, Oppo, focuses on flagship portfolios with premium features. Realme, on the other hand, is more focused on online sales and mid-range phones. The market share of Oppo alone stands at 10 per cent, while that of OnePlus and Realme are 1 per cent and 5 per cent, respectively. However, Oppo, OnePlus, and Realme are a part of BBK Electronics, which also owns the Vivo and IQOO brands.