It was the sixth consecutive quarter of decline for global smartphone shipments, the market tracker added. IDC saw the results as a sign that 2019 will be another down year overall for smartphone shipments, apart from strong growth by Huawei.

“It is becoming increasingly clear that Huawei is laser-focused on growing its stature in the world of mobile devices, with smartphones being its lead horse,” said IDC mobile device program director Ryan Reith.

“The overall smartphone market continues to be challenged in almost all areas, yet Huawei was able to grow shipments by 50 percent.” South Korean consumer electronics behemoth Samsung saw smartphone shipments drop 8.1 percent to 71.9 million in the first quarter.

Huawei, meanwhile, weighed in with 50.3 percent growth to ship 59.1 million smartphones and put it within “striking distance” of Samsung, according to IDC. Apple had a challenging first quarter, with iPhone shipments dropping by a “staggering” 30.2 percent from a year earlier to 36.4 million units, IDC reported.

Price cuts in China along with favorable trade-in deals were not enough to coax people into upgrading to new iPhones, the market tracker said. Apple delivered stronger-than-expected financial results for the past quarter as gains in services helped offset slumping iPhone sales, sparking a rally in shares of the technology giant.

An overall slowdown in the high-end smartphone market has been seen as a symptom of people waiting longer to upgrade to new models and a lack of the kind of captivating innovation that inspires them to do just that.

“Consumers continue to hold on to their phones longer than before as newer higher priced models offer little incentive to shell out top dollar to upgrade,” said IDC research manager Anthony Scarsella.

“Moreover, the pending arrival of 5G handsets could have consumers waiting until both the networks and devices are ready for prime time in 2020.”

The Correspondent Bureau with inputs from agencies

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Ness Wadia, heir to the 283-year-old Wadia Group and co-owner of the Kings XI Punjab cricket team, was arrested in early March at New Chitose Airport in the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido. According to a brief report carried by a local Hokkaido station of state broadcaster NHK, customs officials at New Chitose were alerted to Wadia by sniffer dogs and a search revealed that he had about 25g of what appeared to be cannabis resin in his trouser pocket.

The Wadia empire has many units, which include Bombay Dyeing, Bombay Burman Trading, biscuit giant Britannia Industries to budget airline GoAir and a share in IPL franchise Kings XI Punjab with the total market valuation of its listed entities standing at $13.1 billion. A court official in Sapporo told the Financial Times that Wadia admitted to possession, arguing that the drug was for his personal use.

Japan’s narcotics laws are strict and are currently being applied especially tightly. Wadia spent a period in detention before his indictment on March 20 and an undisclosed period of detention before a court hearing. The Sapporo District Court handed him a two-year prison sentence, which was suspended for five years.

The Correspondent Bureau with inputs from agencies

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