Samsung, Vivo fastest growing 5G smartphone brands in Q1: Report

Smartphone brands Samsung and Vivo were the world's fastest-growing 5G smartphone vendors in the first quarter of 2021, a new report said.

According to new research by Strategy Analytics, South Korean tech giant Samsung grew 79 per cent quarter-on-quarter (QoQ), while Vivo jumped 62 per cent QoQ.

"Global 5G smartphone shipments grew by a healthy 6 per cent QoQ and hit a record of 136 million units during the first quarter of 2021," Ken Hyers, Director at Strategy Analytics, said in a statement on Thursday.

"Demand for 5G smartphones remains very strong, particularly in China, the US and Western Europe. We forecast global 5G smartphone shipments to reach a record 624 million units for the full-year 2021, soaring from 269 million in full-year 2020," Hyers added.

According to Ville-Petteri Ukonaho, Associate Director at Strategy Analytics, Samsung is performing well with new 5G models, such as Galaxy S21 5G, S21 ultra 5G and S21+ 5G, in South Korea, North America and parts of Europe.

Vivo was the second fastest-growing 5G smartphone vendor in Q1 2021, jumping 62 per cent QoQ to 19 million units shipped, driven by its iQOO U3 5G and U7 5G smartphones.