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Business News/ Tech-news / News/  Samsung keeps lead over Apple as Chinese smartphones gain share
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Samsung keeps lead over Apple as Chinese smartphones gain share

Samsung accounted for 28.8% of global smartphone shipments in the December quarter, while Apple's share was 17.9%

Samsung and Apple maintained their dominance, leading all other manufacturers by double-digit margins, even as Chinese suppliers Huawei Technologies and Lenovo Group gained share to finish among the top-five smartphone vendors in 2013. Photo: AFPPremium
Samsung and Apple maintained their dominance, leading all other manufacturers by double-digit margins, even as Chinese suppliers Huawei Technologies and Lenovo Group gained share to finish among the top-five smartphone vendors in 2013. Photo: AFP

Beijing: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd, the world’s largest smartphone maker, kept its lead over Apple Inc. in the fourth quarter, while both lost ground to Chinese vendors, International Data Corp. (IDC) said.

Samsung accounted for 28.8% of global smartphone shipments in the three months ended 31 December, down from 29.1% a year earlier, Massachusetts-based market researcher IDC said in a statement on Monday. Apple’s share fell to 17.9% from 20.9%.

The two companies maintained their dominance, leading all other manufacturers by double-digit margins, even as Chinese suppliers Huawei Technologies Co. and Lenovo Group Ltd gained share to finish among the top-five smartphone vendors in 2013. Low-cost devices helped the Chinese makers in emerging markets.

“Cheap devices are not the attractive segment that normally grabs headlines, but IDC data shows this is the portion of the market that is driving volume," said Ryan Reith, program director for IDC’s Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker. “Markets such as China and India are quickly moving toward a point where sub-$150 smartphones are the majority of shipments."

Huawei’s market share rose to 5.8% in the fourth quarter from 4.6% a year earlier, IDC said. Lenovo gained to 4.9% from 4.1%.

South Korea’s LG Electronics Inc. rounded out the top five, boosting its share to 4.6% from 3.8%.

Total shipments

Samsung also continued to lead in total mobile phone shipments in the quarter, which includes the traditional mobile devices used mainly for voice calls or texting. The Suwon, South Korea-based company’s share of all mobile phone shipments slipped to 22.9% from 23.5%, IDC said. It was followed by Nokia Oyj, whose market share declined to 13% from 17.8%.

Apple ranked third in total mobile-phone shipments with a 10.4% share, followed by LG’s 3.8% and Huawei’s 3.7%, IDC said.

Data released on Monday by Strategy Analytics showed Samsung posting a small gain in smartphone share for the fourth quarter. Like IDC, it also showed Huawei and Lenovo gaining market share and ranking among the world’s top five makers for the full year.

Samsung’s share of smartphone shipments in the fourth quarter rose to 29.6% from 29%, Strategy Analytics said in a statement.

Apple’s share declined to 17.6% from 22%, while Huawei rose to 5.7% from 5%, LG gained to 4.5% from 4%, and Lenovo boosted its share to 4.7% from 4.2%, according to Strategy Analytics. Bloomberg

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Published: 28 Jan 2014, 11:18 AM IST
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