Data from Canalys showed global smartphone shipments ticked down by 1 per cent in Q3, which marked a slowdown in decline for the year.

The research company noted regional recoveries and fresh product upgrade demand offset poor macroeconomic conditions from earlier in the year, but Canalys analyst Toby Zhu cautioned phone vendors should remain cautious about the rebound.

He noted Canalys’ forecasts suggested decelerating medium-to-long-term smartphone market growth and stated the current short-term order surge, combined with reduced supply capacity, could lead to component shortages that would challenge planning and production going forward.

“Meticulous monitoring of stock turnover and end demand is critical to avoid turbulence from high inventory,” Zhu stated.

Samsung held onto the top spot in Q3 with a 20 per cent market share despite a slight dip year-over-year. Apple was in second-place with a 17 per cent market share followed by Xiaomi with 14 per cent.

Rounding out the top-five, Oppo, including OnePlus, was fourth with a 9 per cent market share, primarily due to its strong presence in the Asia Pacific region, while Transsion was fifth with a 9 per cent share. Outside the top five, Canalys stated Huawei recorded a large comeback in its home market driven by its new Mate series. Canalys analyst Amber Liu stated new Huawei and Apple devices outshone other vendors’ flagship series.