Quote:Among the five top smartphone brands worldwide, Huawei and Xiaomi were the only companies that witnessed significant year-over-year (YoY) growth in terms of smartphone shipments last year. That's according to a new report from Counterpoint Research, which also revealed that global shipments for smartphones fell 4% annually in the last calendar year.

Tarun Pathak, Associate Director at Counterpoint Research, said that 2018 marked the first time that the global smartphone market saw a full-year decline, owing to "lengthening replacement cycles in developed markets like US, China, and Western Europe." This was despite the efforts of smartphone OEMs to bake new features into their mobile device offerings including artificial intelligence, multi-lens camera modules, full-screen displays, and under-display fingerprint sensors.

Pathak added that consumers chose to hold onto their device longer due to a lack of innovation and higher price tags of newer smartphones.