Samsung Still The Mobile Phone Leader In Q2

Samsung Electronics remained the leader in terms of global mobile smartphone shipments during Q2 2017.

That’s according to market research firm Canalys, which reported news that Samsung shipped more than 79 million Android units around the globe. The smartphone shipments in Q2 2017 represent flat growth for the South Korean consumer electronics maker, said Canalys in a report.

Apple maintained its second place spot with sales of 41 million iOS devices during the quarter. That marks a 2 percent increase from last year’s second quarter.

Huawei came in at third with 38 million units shipped, marking a 20 percent increase, while OPPO and Xiaomi rounded out the top five with global shipments of 44 percent and 52 percent respectively.

“Smartphone shipments to North America increased around 7 percent year on year, with Apple growing 10 percent. Apple outperformed Samsung, despite the launch of the Galaxy S8 and growing anticipation for the next iPhone,” the research firm said. Canalys noted more than 340 million smartphone sales in the second quarter of 2017, which is a close to 4 percent year-over-year increase.

Meanwhile, competing research firm Strategy Analytics reported shipments of mobile phones increased 6 percent in the second quarter, which ended in June. Shipments reached 360 million units industry-wide. Among the leading smartphone makers, Samsung maintained its top spot with 22 percent market share while Apple came in second with market share declining to 11 percent. Huawei of China came in at third place, controlling 38.4 percent of the market, while OPPO was in fourth with 29.5 percent of the market and Xiaomi was in fifth with market share of 23.2 percent. Strategy Analytics said the growth in the second quarter was driven by first-time buyers in emerging markets such as Africa and upgrades to Android devices in Western Europe.

“Samsung shipped 79.5 million smartphones worldwide in Q2 2017, rising 2 percent annually from 77.6 million units in Q2 2016. Samsung continued its recovery from last year’s Galaxy Note 7 battery fiasco, lifted by robust demand for the new Galaxy S8 portfolio with an innovative bezel-less design. We expect the rumored Galaxy Note 8 upgrade with a bigger screen to further strengthen Samsung in the coming weeks,” said Neil Mawston, executive director at Strategy Analytics, in a release announcing results for the second quarter. “Apple’s iPhone has gone out of fashion in China, and this is placing a cap on its worldwide performance. Attention will now turn to Apple’s rumored iPhone 8 introduction later this year and whether its tenth-anniversary flagship model will be different or exciting enough to ignite a rebound in iPhone volumes for the important Q4 2017 Western holiday season.”

For the second quarter, the research firm found Apple shipped 41 million iOS devices, down 12 percent from last year.