Both Samsung and Apple have slipped in smartphone marketshare globally during the first quarter of 2014 according to the latest numbers from research firm Strategy Analytics. While global smartphone shipments grew 33 percent to 285 million units in Q1 compared to 213.9 million in the same quarter last year, Apple and Samsung collectively dropped from over 50 percent of the market to 47 percent. The report cites strong growth of “second-tier smartphone brands” such as Huwaei and Lenovo and lack of entry-level devices in markets abroad from Apple as the main contributors to slowed growth for Samsung and Apple. As for Apple on its own:
APPLE grew a below-average 17 percent annually and shipped 43.7 million iPhones worldwide for 15 percent marketshare in Q1 2014, falling from the 17 percent level recorded during Q1 2013. Apple remains strong in the premium smartphone segment, but a lack of presence in the entry-level category continues to cost it lost volumes in fast-growing emerging markets such as Latin America… Samsung continues to face tough competition from Apple at the higher-end of the smartphone market and from Chinese brands like Huawei at the lower-end.
That compares to 89.0 million smartphones shipped for Samsung and 31 percent marketshare during Q1 2014, which is also a drop from the 32 percent it held in the year ago quarter. Strategy Analytics notes, “This was Samsung’s first annual marketshare loss in the smartphone category since Q4 2009.”
Lenovo experienced growth from 4 to 5 percent since last year, while Huawei remains steady at 5 percent of the global market and the “others” category grows from 41.5% to 44.1%.
