San Diego, Buenos Aires, London, New Delhi, Hong Kong, Beijing, Taipei, Seoul – May 3, 2022
Smartphone shipments from ODM/IDH (Original Design Manufacturer/Independent Design House) companies grew 6.4% YoY in 2021, according to Counterpoint Research’s Global Smartphone ODM Tracker and Report, H2 2021. This is attributed to a rebound of 4.5% YoY in the overall global smartphone market in 2021. The share of smartphone shipments from outsourced designs (from ODM/IDH companies) increased to 37% in 2021, up from 36% in 2020.
Global Smartphone Design Operation Status, 2021
Senior Research Analyst Ivan Lam said, “Although the pandemic continued to impact the global smartphone market, and specifically the 4G SoC supply, ODMs managed to achieve decent growth. The ODM market growth was primarily driven by increasing orders from key clients Xiaomi, Lenovo/Motorola and Transsion. Key ODMs for Xiaomi benefitted the most due to its 31% YoY growth in shipments in 2021.”
Senior Research Analyst Yang Wang added, “Huawei’s decline impacted the ‘Big 3’ and CNCE, as the embattled OEM’s outsourced orders dropped 78% YoY. These were partially offset by HONOR’s return in the second half of 2021. Overall outsourced orders by HONOR still dropped 11% YoY. But on a brighter note, we see the trend of in-house production being outsourced to ODMs continuing in the next few years. For example, vivo saw the first shipments of ODM-made devices in H2 2021.”
Looking at the competitive landscape of the global smartphone ODM/IDH market, Huaqin, Longcheer and Wingtech continued to dominate the market. The ‘Big 3’ now account for 70% of global ODM/IDH smartphone shipments, though the lead is down from 77% in 2020.
Ranking, Growth of Global Smartphone ODM/IDH Vendors
Commenting on the leading ODMs’ performance, Lam said, “Huaqin captured the biggest share among ODMs. Longcheer’s shipments increased significantly, thanks largely to Xiaomi’s orders in 2021. Wingtech shifted its main focus in 2021 to the semiconductor and optical module sectors. Its smartphone shipments retreated mainly due to shortages of 4G SoCs at key clients. Tinno continued to trend in the right direction due to Lenovo and Motorola’s progress in LATAM markets and carrier businesses in North America and Africa.”
The diversification of manufacturing in the global electronics industry has continued. While smartphone OEMs are aggressively investing in India, EMS companies such as Foxconn, Pegatron, Compal and Wistron are expanding assembly lines to India, North America and Southeast Asia.
Commenting on these trends, Lam said, “Smartphone ODMs are gradually moving away from IDH services and focusing more on production and assembly services. Leading ODMs are also constructing local production lines in places like India, Southeast Asia and Brazil. However, one should be wary of limiting factors such as availability of skilled labor, sub-optimal supply chain ecosystem and local policy risks.”
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Analyst Contact
Ivan Lam
ivan.lam@counterpointresearch.com
Yang Wang
yang.wang@counterpointresearch.com
Counterpoint Research
press@counterpointresearch.com
