Global sales of smartphones to end users totaled 349 million units in the first quarter of 2016, a 3.9 percent increase over the same period in 2015, according to Gartner. martphone sales represented 78 percent of total mobile phone sales in the first quarter of 2016, the research firm says.

Smartphone sales were driven by demand for low-cost smartphones in emerging markets and for affordable 4G smartphones, led by 4G connectivity promotion plans from communications service providers (CSPs) in many markets worldwide.

Worldwide Smartphone Sales to End Users by Vendor in 1Q16 (Thousands of Units)

Source: Gartner (May 2016)

Oppo had the best performance in the quarter, moving into the No. 4 position with unit sales growth of 145 percent. Like Huawei and Xiaomi, Oppo saw strong growth in China, taking share from players such as Lenovo, Samsung and Yulong. Huawei saw strong smartphone demand in Europe, the Americas and Africa, while Xiaomi and Oppo saw their smartphone sales in emerging Asia/Pacific rise by 20 percent and 199 percent, respectively.

In the first quarter of 2016, Samsung extended its lead over Apple with 23 percent market share. Obviously, Samsung's Galaxy S7 series phones and renewed portfolio positioned it as a strong competitor in the smartphone market.

Apple had its first double-digit decline year on year, with iPhone sales down 14 percent. Apple's "upgrade program" in the U.S. has helped sweeten its flagship iPhone 6s and 6s plus model pricing to drive sales in its largest smartphone market. Apple is also exploring ways to refarm second-hand iPhones coming through the program in emerging markets.

Lenovo disappeared from the top five smartphone vendor ranking as well as the top 10 mobile phone vendor market in the first quarter of 2016.

Worldwide Smartphone Sales to End Users by Operating System in 1Q16 (Thousands of Units)

Source: Gartner (May2016)

In terms of the smartphone operating system (OS) market, Android regained share over iOS and Windows to achieve 84 percent share.

iOS followed with a 14.8 percent share, and struggling Windows Phone took a 0.7 percent share.

Nokia recently announced return to the smartphone and tablet markets, but it will not be an easy mission. Although making good hardware won?t be an issue for Nokia, users need a compelling reason to remain loyal to the same brand.