Samsung regains smartphone lead from Apple in Q1 2017

Samsung smartphone share in Q1 2017Samsung Electronics has regained its smartphone lead from Apple in the first quarter of 2017.

The Korean smartphone giant has lost its smartphone leadership in the fourth quarter of 2016 after facing battery issue with Samsung’s Note 7.

Phone companies shipped 347.4 million (+4.3 percent) smartphones worldwide in the first quarter of 2017.

Samsung regained control as the leader in the smartphone market though it could not grow its sales of smartphones.

Samsung regained lead after offering substantial discounts on Galaxy S7 and S7 edge. Recently, Samsung started selling S8 and S8+ smartphones.
IDC chart on top smartphone companies in Q1 2017The J-Series and A-Series drove significant volumes in both emerging and developed markets thanks to flagship-like design at more affordable price points.

Apple shipped 51.6 million units in the first quarter, up slightly from 51.2 million shipped last year.

Apple started selling iPhone 7 Plus in numerous regions. Apple introduced a refreshed iPhone SE with more storage capacity (32GB and 128GB).

The Cupertino-based giant also refreshed its flagship smartphone by bringing Red over to the iPhone which paints both the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus in a new red finish.

Huawei achieved 22 percent growth in shipments to 34.2 million units in the first quarter of 2017 from 28.1 million units.

Huawei announced that it sold over 5 million units of Mate 9 since it launched in November. Huawei could not generate attention for Mate 9 n the U.S.

Consumers could look for the new P10 flagship and the new P10 Plus at the end of the quarter as a valid third option outside of Apple and Samsung.

“2016 was a pivotal year for the mobile phone industry as growth dipped to low single digits for the first time. However, we believe the industry will show some rebound in 2017, and the strong first quarter results certainly support this argument,” said Ryan Reith, program vice president with IDC’s Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Device Trackers.

IDC said big flagship announcements from Huawei with the P10 devices and Samsung with the Galaxy S8 devices show that innovation is still possible.