Samsung has taken once again assumed the lead over Apple in the global smartphone market.
According to new numbers released this week from International Data Corporation (IDC), Samsung shipped 82.4 million smartphones in the first quarter of 2015 for a 24.5 percent share of the global market. Apple shipped 61.2 million iPhones during the quarter, for an 18.2 percent market share.
Samsung and Apple were trailed at a distant second and third by Lenovo (5.6 percent) and Huawei (5 percent) respectively. IDC notes that Lenovo’s first quarter results includes shipments from its subsidiaries, including Motorola.
“The challenge made by Apple for the top spot in the fourth quarter returned to a clear lead for Samsung in the first quarter, despite the soaring global demand for the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus,” said Anthony Scarsella, research manager with IDC’s mobile phone team. “Samsung’s shipments, given that the S6 was not launched into the market for the full quarter, were driven by large volumes into emerging markets and steady demand for its mid-range and lower-priced smartphones.”
Melissa Chau, senior research manager with IDC’s Mobile Device Tracker team noted Apple’s strong quarter, as it showed big improvement in China.
“Through the rest of this year, we expect all vendors to be squeezed on falling ASPs, while at the high end it will be a battle between the Galaxy S6 and S6 edge from Samsung versus continued demand for the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus,” Chau said.
Overall vendors shipped a total of 336.5 million smartphones worldwide during the first quarter, up 16.7 percent from the 288.5 million units in sold during the same quarter last year. That number down sequentially by 10.9 percent from the 377.5 million units last quarter.
In the overall mobile phone market, which includes smartphones and feature phones, vendors shipped 458.9 million units worldwide, down a mere .1 percent from the 459.3 million units shipped last quarter.
Filed Under: Devices
