Samsung, OPPO, Realme & Xiaomi Drove the Uptick in Global Smartphone Design & Manufacturing outsource Market in 2019

Hong Kong, Beijing, Taipei, Seoul, Mumbai, London, San Diego, Buenos Aires

20^th March 2020

Shipments from ODM (Original Design Manufacturer)/IDH (Independent Design Houses) companies grew by 4% annually in 2019 against the declining trend in the overall smartphone market (-2% y/y), according to the latest research from Counterpoint’s ODM/IDH/EMS tracker. This was a result of various key smartphone brands continuing to outsource the design and design+manufacturing of their smartphone models to the external IDH and ODM communities during the year.

Exhibit 1: Global Smartphone Design Landscape in CY2019

Source: Counterpoint Global Smartphone ODM/IDH/EMS Tracker 2019

Commenting on the latest findings, Flora Tang, Research Analyst at Counterpoint Research, said, “In terms of design outsourcing, orders to smartphone ODMs (for design + assembly) grew by 18% annually while orders to IDH (for design only) dropped by 8% annually. The trend of clients opting towards ODM’s turnkey solution was more apparent in 2019. ODM growth was mainly driven by rising orders from Samsung, OPPO + Realme, Xiaomi and LG. However, Huawei Group cut orders to ODMs, shifting its strategy towards an ‘in-house design, out-sourced manufacturing’ business model.”

Ms. Tang continued, “Looking at the competitive landscape of the smartphone ODM/IDH market, Wingtech, Huaqin, and Longcheer continued to dominate the combined global smartphone ODM & IDH segments. The segment is getting increasingly consolidated with the top three players accounting for 68% share in 2019, compared to 52% two years ago.”

Exhibit 2: Global Smartphone ODM and IDH Markets Vendors Shipments Share

Source: Counterpoint Global Smartphone ODM/IDH/EMS Tracker 2019

Commenting on the performance and market dynamics, Senior Analyst, Ethan Qi said, “In 2019, Wingtech topped the smartphone ODM rankings, surpassing Huaqin for the first time globally, thanks to increasing orders and design wins from Samsung and others. However, Longcheer surpassed Wingtech in the smartphone IDH segment as Xiaomi moved part of its IDH business away from Wingtech. Huaqin Telecom, despite suffering orders cut from its major client Huawei, recovered with double-digit growth since 2H 2019. ODMs such as Tinno Mobile also saw a positive uptick in 2019, thanks to the rising orders from overseas OEMs and telecom operators.”

“With 2020 going to be the breakout year for 5G smartphones, uncertainty in the first half due to the COVID-19 outbreak and the smartphone market becoming more concentrated, the ODM/IDH landscape will become more fierce and competitive.” Mr. Qi added.

Finally, commenting on new sectors and opportunities, Neil Shah, Research VP at Counterpoint Research, said, “With the global smartphone market becoming saturated, we are now seeing these ODMs accelerating expansion to the IoT (Internet of Things) sector. In CY 2019, shipments of various consumer IoT devices from Huaqin and Longcheer continued to rise healthily. Smart home, tablets/PC, wearables, medical and mobility applications are the hot consumer IoT device segments which will be key focus areas for the Chinese ODMs in 2020.

Further, many of these key ODMs are looking to diversify their design and manufacturing operations beyond China into markets such as India, Vietnam or Mexico in following the demand and regional regulations from some of their key customers which are strong in these regions. Many of the key OEMs and supply chain players want to reduce their dependence on China geographically and operationally.”

The in-depth comprehensive research “ Global Smartphone ODM/IDH/EMS Report 2019-2020”, is available for subscribing clients on our Research Portal.

Analyst Contact: 

Flora Tang

Counterpoint Research
press(at)counterpointresearch.com

You can also visit our Data Section (updated quarterly) to view the smartphone market share Global, the USA, China , and India.