Despite flat growth and infamous battery explosion fiasco, South Korean smartphone major Samsung continues to be the number one smartphone maker in the world, said a report. “Samsung regained control as the leader in the worldwide smartphone market despite a flat first quarter (0% year-over-year growth),” said IDC.
In first quarter of 2017, while Samsung shipped 79.2 million smartphone, Apple could only managed to ship 51.6 million. Substantial discounts on the Galaxy S7 and S7 edge helped move last year's flagships as they make way for the new S8 and S8+, said IDC.
The research firm is of the view that outside of the high end, the product mix continues to shift toward more affordable models. “The J-Series and A-Series drove significant volumes in both emerging and developed markets thanks to flagship-like design at more affordable price points,” said IDC.
A refreshed A7, A5, and A3 earlier this quarter, along with a recently updated J-Series, and new flagship S8/S8+ should give Samsung a well-balanced portfolio across all regions in the second quarter, stated IDC.
An early positive response to the recently launched S8 and S8+ looks promising as it may have finally put Samsung's Note 7 fiasco to bed, said IDC.
For Apple, which came second, the Q1 remained essentially flat with shipments reaching 51.6 million units in the first quarter, up slightly from the 51.2 million shipped last year. “The strong holiday fourth quarter carried into the month of January as the larger iPhone 7 Plus returned to stock across most channels in numerous regions,” said IDC.
Huawei came third and according to IDC it sustained its dominance in China growing nearly 22% as shipments climbed from 28.1 million units last year, to 34.2 million units in the first quarter of 2017. “Huawei once again demonstrated its stable position in the premium market with the P and Mate Series, and a strong presence in the affordable sector with its Y Series and Honor brand,” said IDC.
Oppo and Vivo, both heavily focusing on the camera division of the smartphone came fourth and fifth respectively.
