Top 10 Global Mobile Phone Brands in 2016
Rank Methodology:1] 15 global mobile companies were considered in the sample size.
2] The total number of mobile phone shipments were taken as per the latest yearly data available.
3] The companies are ranked according to the total number of shipments.
Here is a list of top 10 global mobile phone brands in World in 2016 based on shipments data.
Let us have a look at these top mobile phone brands globally in 2016.
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1. Samsung
Samsung mobile phones, a subsidiary of global consumer electronics giant Samsung Electronics, is the undisputed leader in the smartphone segment across the world, accounting for nearly 30% sales in terms of volume globally.
Samsung Electronics, based out of South Korea, was formed in the year 1969, and has been a pioneer in electronics across the globe with over 300,000+ employees worldwide and global sales from around 80 countries. Samsung was one of the first to adopt smartphones in its product portfolio.
It helped them topple the ever strong Nokia, which has been a market leader for years. 2013, Samsung focused only on using Android operation systems, which helped them capture the markets rapidly. Every year, the company has been consistently selling more than 300 million units, which has enabled the company to become a global leader in the smartphone segment. Some of the most popular phones of Samsung are mentioned below:
- Samsung Galaxy S series
- Samsung Galaxy J series
- Samsung Galaxy A series
- Samsung Galaxy Note series
- Samsung Galaxy Grand series
Samsung has a strong financial position, owing to its diversity across the consumer electronics segments. The company is an aggressive marketer, and spends in excess of $14 billion on advertising. TVCs, print ads, online advertising etc have made Samsung a global brand with a top of the mind brand recall. Apart from advertising, the brand has sponsored major events like Olympics, football clubs, basketball clubs etc.
Total Shipments: 320 million units
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2. Apple
Apple Inc, founded by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne in 1976 is easily one of the most well recognized brand across the world especially for its brands like Mac and iPhones.
Apple is a global leader in manufacturing smartphones, consumer electronics, software etc, which has its presence across the world. In terms of its global reach, the company has close to 100 exclusive stores in over 15 countries, but the products are sold in over 40 countries through online stores.
In 2007, Steve Jobs released the first ever iPhone, smart phone brand which has ever since been a pioneer in innovation, style and an iconic gadget one seeks to have. With new launches every year, the iPhone 6 was released with much fanfare in 2014. It was also accompanied by iPhone 6S and iPhone 6S plus. The features of these phones included a high definition 12 MP camera with a 5MP front camera. Along with that, a new technology known as 3D was introduced for the first time. The latest phones released by Apple are:
- iPhone 6
- iPhone 6S
- iPhone 6S Plus
- iPhone SE
The exclusivity of iPhone is further enhanced by its access to more than a million apps in the Apple store, which can be used by its users for free or for a charge. Along with the iPhone phones, the company has also been aggressively pushing its smartwatch, which can be compatible with all the iPhones released after iPhone5.
Apple Inc, with its half-eaten apple as its logo, is one of the most popular logos with a top of the mind recall. Marketing and branding has been a pivotal aspect of the growth of the brand Apple. The company promoted its iPhone6 brand by selecting photographs from its users, and displaying selected entries across the world through hoardings, OOH, banners and more. This was not only an exclusive way of linking with its customers, it was also a way of showing how good its own camera was.
Total Shipments: 225 million units
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3. Huawei
Formed in China in the year 1987, Huawei is one the leading phone manufacturers and telecom equipment companies in the world.
The company has a strong presence in the segments like smartphones, broadband networks, tablets, computers etc, making it a very strong and powerful brand. More than 75000 people employed in the organization are a part of the research and development team, which shows its focus towards technological development and innovation.
The overall workforce of the company is in excess of 160,000+. The company has research centres in over 16 locations spread across the world. The company has constantly been boosted by strategic investments, which have enabled the company to have strong financial operations. JV’s with companies form the telecom industry have boosted the company’s financial strong hold as well. The company has strategic partnerships with brands like TalkTalk, Vodafone, Orange, BT, Motorola etc, which shows the strong presence of the brand in the segment.
The product portfolio of the brand includes names like:
- Honor series
- Y series
- Enjoy series
- Mate Series
- MediaPad series
- Ascent series
Huawei Consumer BG is devoted to getting the modern technology to customers, creating surprizing experiences and realizing dreams for individual across the world. The company has a reach to over 160+ countries, where its products are sold.
The company has been rewarded by the likes of BCG, Reuter, Linkedin etc as one of the most innovative companies of the world and also a favourable place for people to make their career with growing opportunities. Awards and recognition have only further strengthened the brand name in a dynamic industry, with severe competition.
Total Shipments: 104 million units
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4. Lenovo Motorola
In 2011, Motorola became a subsidiary of Lenovo, when it acquired the mobile division from Motorola Inc, making it one of the strongest mobile and smartphone manufacturer in the world.
The Lenovo Motorola Company is based out of Illinois in the United States of America, and has a global presence. The company has a strong expertise in smartphones, tablets, smart watches etc and has a workforce in excess of 3400 employees.
With Lenovo as its parent company, Motorola has a strong financial backing and hence huge amount of money is put in research and development, and innovation is considered a USP for the brand. In 2015, Lenovo and Motorola completely merged its operations with each other and collectively focused on design, manufacturing of mobile phones. However, with constant transfer of ownership of the company from one company to another, there was a phase where there were significant layoffs in the company.
Some of the biggest names made by Motorola mobile phones are mentioned below:
- Moto G
- Moto X
- Moto E
- Moto Maxx
- Moto Razr
The company is also a leader in innovative offerings like smart-watches like Moto 360, which have enabled the company to increase their overall sales.
Motorola also has a unique value proposition where it allows its consumers to customize their own phones as per their own needs and requirements. The company has constantly endeavoured to maximise its brand visibility through ad campaigns on TV, print, online media. Also, sponsorships have given the brand unparalleled visibility which has boosted the sales across the world.
Total Shipments: 72 million units
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5. Xiaomi
Headquartered in China in Beijing, Xiaomi has established itself as one of the world’s leading mobile phone manufacturers, claiming to have shipped over 65 million handsets in a single year.
Despite being a very new company formed in 2010, the company has manifold its business not only across China, but has penetrated the global market in the smart phones segment. The company has a strong workforce of 8000+ people employed with the organization.
Xiaomi has constantly become a force to reckon with especially after receiving a big investment boost of USD 1.1 billion, taking its overall valuation over 45 billion USD. It has managed to tap big markets like China, India etc where it is focusing on playing the volume game, thereby enabling them to sell products in a huge volume. The company also has significant presence in Singapore, Thailand, Turkey, Brazil and other European countries.
The company has a unique business model where it focuses on giving high quality offerings to its customers at reduced prices. It also offers apps, complementary products etc which help the brand generate more revenue. Another thing which helps the company reduce costs is that is sells phones only online and does not have retail outlets. The product portfolio if Xiaomi phones consists of popular brands like the ones mentioned below:
- Mi Series
- RedMi Series
There are several variants and feature-enabled phones from the above mentioned series.
The company has been able to reach out to its customers through branding efforts, which have bene unique and effective. The logo of the brand “MI” is actually a short form for Mobile Internet. Apart from smartphones, the company has been increasing its rach and sales volume in smart watches as well as tablets.
Total Shipments: 65 million units
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6. LG
LG Electronics is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of consumer electronics, mobile phones, household appliances and more.
Found in 1958, LG Electronics is not only a big company in South Korea, but one of the leader consumer electronics companies across the world. Overall, the LG group consists of over 80,000+ employees worldwide who are present at over 110 locations across the world.
LG has become one of the leading producers of mobile handsets, smartphones, smart watches, tablets and more. Some of the most popular smartphone devices made by LG, which have become popular with consumers are mentioned below:
- LG G-series
- LG G Flex
- LG K series
- LG Nexus
- LG Tribute
LG has been a pioneer in innovation and has significantly focused on research and development by systematic investments. Some of the latest features like finger-print sensors can enable the company to have mobile phones which do not require buttons. The brand has always marketed itself across various platforms. Apart from TV commercials, online branding activities and reaching out to customers through print ad campaigns, the brand has tied=up with events and given sponsorships for brand visibility. LG has been associated with popular sports events like Formula 1, football clubs across Europe, ICC cricket awards etc. These associations have enabled the company to build a strong reputation and have given them a competitive edge over other smart phone manufacturers from the world. LG’s tagline “Life’s Good” are among the world’s most easily recognizable slogans across the world.
The company has a strong environmental record, where in it has ensured that its processes have been eco-friendly and has had low carbon strategies as a part of its operational activities.
Total Shipments: 59 million units
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7. ZTE
ZTE is a global leader in manufacturing smartphones, which was formed in the year 1985 in China, and has a global presence.
ZTE has an extremely strong expertise in manufacturing smartphones and is not only a top player in China, but also a leader in the world. The company boosts of a strong workforce of nearly 70,000 employees, and a product portfolio having phones, tablets, softwares, telecom services etc.
ZTE has a wide product portfolio in the smartphones segment. Some of the most noticeable phones manufactured by ZTE are listed below:
- Blade series
- Axon series
- Nubia series
- Zmax series
- Grand series
ZTE offers phones starting from a low end cheap phones with basic features to a more advanced mid-segment variety, and also cover exclusive premium high-end devices loaded with features like high resolution camera, apps, advanced operating system etc. ZTE is a very big global brand, which is understood by its presence in the telecom segment. It has global partnerships with global telecom services like Vodafone, China mobile, Telstra etc.
ZTE has been very particular with its branding and marketing activities across the world. Teasers through print ads of new phones like ZTE Axon 7 have enticing customers to consider ZTE phones as a lucrative and value for money product.
Total Shipments: 56 million units
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8. Oppo
Oppo mobile phones, in a very short span of time, have become one of the leading mobile phone manufacturers the world over, giving competition to existing players in the smartphone segment.
Oppo is an electronics and tech organization, which was found in China in the year 2001. Earlier the company only focused on making MP3 players, but in the year 2008, the company entered the smartphone market segment, thereby creating a whole new world of opportunities for itself.
The slogan of Oppo is “The Art of Technology”, which aptly describes the phenomenal growth of the brand in a very short span of time. Oppo diversified in the mobile phone segment in the year 2008, and has since then been reaching out a million customers in over 20 countries. The company ahs been able to capture a good market in Asian countries like China, India, Middle East etc. Apart from that, the company has also been able to attract consumers in USA, Europe, Australia etc.
Some of the most popular smartphone offerings from Oppo are:
- OPPO Mirror
- OPPO Neo
- OPPO Joy
- OPPO F1
- OPPO R7
Oppo phones have given good features to customers, which include a good camera, which is a good USP of the brand.
The company has used many opportunities to market itself by using TVCs, online promotion, advertising in newspapers, print media, magazines etc, which has boosted the image of the company worldwide. Oppo has been linked with several events like Cricket T20 Champions league in India. The company has also tied up with Barcelona football as its official sponsor and partner, which has given a global recognition to the brand.
Total Shipments: 50 million units
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9. TCL Alcatel
Established in 2004, after a JV between TCL and Alcatel, the company has become a prominent player in the mobile phone industry across the world.
Based out of China, TCL Alcatel has been a big player in manufacturing smart phones. Such huge is the brand, that it is present in the stock market in Hong Kong, which shows its financial stability and strong brand perception among investors and consumers alike.
The mobile brand has a massive reach globally as it I present in over 170 countries worldwide. TCL Alcatel claims to be giving customized solutions to customer needs, focusing on technological innovation, and delivering the best products for customers. Alcatel has become a fully own subsidiary of the TCL Comm. The company has relied heavily on brand promotion and marketing strategies to capture the youth across the world, thus positioning its brand as a fun and youthful brand. Apart from smartphones, the company also manufactures tablets, which have excellent features similar to phones.
The prominent product range of Alcatel smartphones are:
- Pixi
- Pop
- Idol
Another important USP of the brand, is its focus towards CSR activities, which helps in saving the environment, as well as health and safety of customers. The company has regularly emphasized business ethics, correct policies for labourers, efficient supply chain management etc.
Another feature in which Alcatel has been consistently moving forward are smart-watches which can be connected to their phones and synced for a unique customer experience. Alcatel has also been rewarded by several accolades and awards for its unique design, innovation etc. The company has exceled in branding and marketing exercises through corporate tie-ups, event sponsorships, above the line advertising and much more.
Total Shipments: 48 million units
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10. Vivo
Vivo mobile is one of the fastest growing mobile brands in the world, which is growing at a rapid pace, after aggressively capturing the market.
Vivo mobile was recently founded in the year 2009 in China, and has become a prominent worldwide name in mobile phones within a short span. It is based in Dongguan in China and makes smartphones, softwares, peripheral mobile devices etc.
BBK Electronics is the parent company of Vivo mobile phones. Vivo phones became an overnight rage when they released the world’s slimmest phone, thus capturing the imagination of the world. By 2015, the company became a recognizable brand, and started gaining popularity worldwide. The company has focused on innovation and R&D and has a strong workforce of over 1500 employees. The product portfolio of the company consists of the following series:
- X series (expensive phones)
- V series (middle priced phones)
- Y series (low end smartphones)
Ever since the company has focused on global growth, it has been able to capture a market in over 100+ countries. The brand has focused on extensive advertising and marketing strategies, and has partnered with several events for sponsorships. As far as advertising is concerned, the company has pumped in huge investments in TV commercials, print ads, online ad campaigns etc, which have boosted the brand image, and has given a tough competition to its competitors.
Infact in 2016, Vivo has become the title sponsor of the T20 cricket league in India, IPL, which has ensured immense popularity and brand visibility for the mobile phone manufacturer.
Total Shipments: 44 million units
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Mobile phones have become an increasingly integral part of our lives. Such huge is the market that every single day we say new brands being aggressively being launched in the market looking to take a pie in the market share. With the increasing use of apps, smartphones have become a lifeline in day to day activity. The list of top mobile brands consists of Samsung, Apple, followed by Huwaei, Lenovo Motorola, Xiaomi & LG. ZTE & TCL Alcatel are prominent brands, with Vivo and Oppo phones making a huge impact.
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