New Delhi, Oct 29 (IANS): While the global smartphone market grew 6 per cent quarter-on-quarter (QoQ) to reach 342 million units in the third quarter, the market declined 6 per cent year-on-year (YoY), a report said on Friday.

However, Samsung retained the number one spot in the third quarter with smartphone shipments of 69 million units.

According to market research firm Counterpoint, the market declined due to the ongoing global component shortages and the slow recovery of key markets such as China and parts of Europe.

"During the September quarter, we saw supply constraints that were even more severe than those experienced during the June quarter," Counterpoint Research Director Tarun Pathak said in a statement.

"This led to declines in shipment volumes, especially in the entry tier segment, which limited the growth potential. As a result, market demand was met by mid-to high-tier smartphones that helped drive the quarter to a record revenue even with the declining shipments," he added.

Apple shipped 48 million units in the third quarter, up 15 per cent YoY. This growth was propelled by the launch of the latest iPhone 13 series and stronger than expected performance of the iPhone SE 2020.

Apple continued its push in China's premium segment where Chinese brands such as OPPO, Vivo and Xiaomi have not been able to effectively fill the gap left by Huawei's diminishing position.

Xiaomi shipped 44.4 million units, down 5 per cent YoY and 15 per cent QoQ as it was severely hit by the ongoing component shortages.A

As a result, its global market share declined to 12.9 per cent from 16.25 per cent in the second quarter. In China, Xiaomi's shipment declined 15 per cent QoQ and the brand lost the third spot to HONOR.

OPPO, which also includes OnePlus, grew 23 per cent YoY to capture an 11.1 per cent market share with 38.1 million units.

The brand saw an increase in the $400-$599 and $600-$799 price bands, mainly owing to strong shipments of the Reno 6 series, Find X3 and OnePlus 9 series.

During the quarter, OnePlus also registered its highest ever shipments in India.

Vivo grew 9 per cent YoY and 4 per cent QoQ to take 9.8 per cent share for the quarter. Vivo continued to lead in China's market in the third quarter with more than 17 million units.

Huawei's shipments further declined 84 per cent YoY to reach 5.8 million units due to a lack of core components.

HONOR's shipments grew 73 per cent QoQ driven by its market comeback in China, where it became the fourth largest brand in the third quarter.

realme achieved its highest-ever shipment performance with 16 million units. This was driven by the strong and consistent performance of its 8 series and newly-launched Narzo series.