Samsung breaks smartphone sales record in China for Q1, doubles Apple's iPhone
After becoming the smartphone market leader in China last year, Samsung has reportedly broken records by shipping 12.5 million handsets in the first quarter of 2013, more than doubling sales of Apple's iPhone.
According to market research firm Strategy Analytics, as reported by The Korean Herald (via The Next Web), Samsung broke a smartphone sales record in the booming Chinese smartphone market during the first quarter, selling some 12.5 million handsets, while Apple's iPhone saw sales of 6.1 million units.
Quarter-on-quarter, Samsung boosted its share of the Chinese smartphone market by 2.2 percent, leaving the Korean company with 18.5 percent of all sales for the three month period ending in March. This is the first quarter Samsung sold over 10 million smartphones in the country.
Samsung's latest Galaxy S4 flagship smartphone.
Second through fifth place went to Chinese companies, including second-place Huawei and third-place Lenovo, which sold 8.1 million and 7.9 million smartphones, respectively. Fourth and fifth place went to Coolpad and ZTE, which managed to move a respective 7 million and 6.4 million units.
Apple landed in sixth place with 6.1 million iPhones sold during the first quarter.
Trailing the pack was Korean manufacturer and the world's third-largest smartphone maker LG, which eked out 100,000 units sold to account for a 0.1 percent share of the Chinese market.
Overall, Chinese consumers purchased 67.4 million smartphones from January to March, accounting for about 32 percent of all worldwide handset sales.
While it is difficult, if not impossible, to make comparisons between sales and shipments, Strategy Analystics' findings are somewhat in line with shipping estimates released by Canalys earlier in May. That report claimed overall Chinese smartphone shipments came out to 82 million units, with Samsung holding 20 percent of the market, up 2.3 percent from the previous quarter.
Samsung joined Apple, which saw iPhone shipments good enough for fifth place, to become the only two foreign companies to earn spots on China's top-ten smartphone manufacturer list for the first quarter.
While specific OEM numbers are disputed in the two reports, it is clear that China has become the world's largest smartphone market, and thus the next battleground for handset makers around the globe.
According to market research firm Strategy Analytics, as reported by The Korean Herald (via The Next Web), Samsung broke a smartphone sales record in the booming Chinese smartphone market during the first quarter, selling some 12.5 million handsets, while Apple's iPhone saw sales of 6.1 million units.
Quarter-on-quarter, Samsung boosted its share of the Chinese smartphone market by 2.2 percent, leaving the Korean company with 18.5 percent of all sales for the three month period ending in March. This is the first quarter Samsung sold over 10 million smartphones in the country.
Samsung's latest Galaxy S4 flagship smartphone.
Second through fifth place went to Chinese companies, including second-place Huawei and third-place Lenovo, which sold 8.1 million and 7.9 million smartphones, respectively. Fourth and fifth place went to Coolpad and ZTE, which managed to move a respective 7 million and 6.4 million units.
Apple landed in sixth place with 6.1 million iPhones sold during the first quarter.
Trailing the pack was Korean manufacturer and the world's third-largest smartphone maker LG, which eked out 100,000 units sold to account for a 0.1 percent share of the Chinese market.
Overall, Chinese consumers purchased 67.4 million smartphones from January to March, accounting for about 32 percent of all worldwide handset sales.
While it is difficult, if not impossible, to make comparisons between sales and shipments, Strategy Analystics' findings are somewhat in line with shipping estimates released by Canalys earlier in May. That report claimed overall Chinese smartphone shipments came out to 82 million units, with Samsung holding 20 percent of the market, up 2.3 percent from the previous quarter.
Samsung joined Apple, which saw iPhone shipments good enough for fifth place, to become the only two foreign companies to earn spots on China's top-ten smartphone manufacturer list for the first quarter.
While specific OEM numbers are disputed in the two reports, it is clear that China has become the world's largest smartphone market, and thus the next battleground for handset makers around the globe.
Comments
interesting that samsung's shipments resulted in twice as many iPhones being sold as would have been otherwise, cuz that's what this says.
so without samsung in china, apple would have only sold three million iPhones? but with them there they sold six million?
Sadly, AppleInsider is becoming less relevant to me as a source of Apple news. Keep it up AI. You're going to start bleeding long-term members if you continue transforming yourself to AndroidInsider/SamsungInsider. You can try spinning it however you wish, but the reality is you're grabbing your ankles and letting the iHaters and trolls guide your direction.
It is a safe bet that Apple made more money selling phones in China than all of their competition combined.
But I'm guessing most of the Samsung smartphones sold in China are actually their budget phones.
Considering Apple's phones [I]start[/I] at $450... are we really shocked that Samsung is the volume leader in smartphone sales?
I'd love to see the sales breakdown of models by price... just for my own curiosity.
It's still a Holiday weekend in the US. I didn't really expect a lot of hard-hitting news over the past few days.
At least they mentioned Apple in this article... yay for 6th place in China!
The better their share gets now in countries like China and India, the harder the fall for the copyist.
It is time for Apple to step up its game in China! As an expat living here it is disheartening to see Samsung taking such a strong position. One of the biggest reasons is their larger screens for smartphones! Apple needs to fill this void in their product line, and quickly. The reason is quite simple. Unlike in the US, where the iPhone dominates, the Chinese consumer's primary computing device is their smartphone, and therefore they prefer the larger screen for everything they do. From viewing websites and photos, to their constant use of social marketing. Certainly price is also a factor, and Samsung is dramatically outspending Apple in marketing and incentives to rapidly gain share. Other key factors are Apple's absence on China Mobile, and Samsung's better understanding and adaptation for the Chinese / Asian market. Speed it up Apple!!!!
As to the negative comments here regarding AI's reporting Samsung news, as an investor, it is extremely important to understand your key competition and trends so their reporting is absolutely relevant and appreciated. The key though is not to respond to and mimic Samsung's PR machine, which tries to control the conversation and creates misleading information and FUD, but to objectively report on the facts. To dig deep and actually investigate and report, not repeat others.
Quote:
Originally Posted by FreeRange
...
As to the negative comments here regarding AI's reporting Samsung news, as an investor, it is extremely important to understand your key competition and trends so their reporting is absolutely relevant and appreciated. The key though is not to respond to and mimic Samsung's PR machine, which tries to control the conversation and creates misleading information and FUD, but to objectively report on the facts. To dig deep and actually investigate and report, not repeat others.
AI investigate and report? Not going to happen, that requires real work. All AI does is regurgitate what they find on other sites. There are no journalists or investigative reporters on AI now and I am not too sure there ever was.
Quote:
Originally Posted by sflocal
Sadly, AppleInsider is becoming less relevant to me as a source of Apple news. Keep it up AI. You're going to start bleeding long-term members if you continue transforming yourself to AndroidInsider/SamsungInsider. You can try spinning it however you wish, but the reality is you're grabbing your ankles and letting the iHaters and trolls guide your direction.
If AI posts bad news about Samsung, you guys cheer, hoot, and holler and point fingers at the "Samesung" copycats.
If AI posts good news about Samsung, you claim that AI is a shill for Samsung and that this is intolerable.
I'd like to see these numbers with a breakdown by carrier.
Also bear in mind that China has over a BILLION (Dr. Evil) people, so tens of millions of sales is still small in comparison. As Tim Cook has said, it's a long game.
(And to those complaining that this is a positive article for Samsung, well, that's reality. The information portion is to provide perspective of what kind of market Apple is competing in. Stop being so defensive.)
I just can't understand how Apple fans don't want to know this information, (and indeed feel threatened and / or personally offended by it).
Tim Cook (and other top staff) got this information as well. Hmm.... I wonder if he put his fingers in his ears and went LALALALALALA!! I wonder if he fired the guy who delivered it to him?
Are you guys pissed off because this is a story involving a report by "Strategy Analytics"? Or because Samsung is in the report?
You're weird.
Originally Posted by isaidso
Are you guys pissed off because this is a story involving a report by "Strategy Analytics"? Or because Samsung is in the report?
Because it's an Apple website, troll. Not a generic tech website, not a Samsung website.
I understand there's no Apple product news, but surely there's more Apple related news than Samsung.
Here's one for you. Compare the trading volume of Apple stock to that of Google when both were at 700 dollars per share. Ask yourself why there is such a large spread in daily volume for two equally owned and understood companies? Hint: 70% of Apples daily volume is bogus ping pong trades. And remember, 100 shares sets the new price on the margin. Investigate and write about that.
I am applesupertramp and I am Steve
And the budget 4" iPhone (8GB, plastic) could sell at €399. And the 5" iPhone could sell at €599.
This is what Apple should do in 2013. These 3 products, these 3 price points.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tallest Skil
Because it's an Apple website, troll. Not a generic tech website, not a Samsung website.
Do you think the Apple execs don't pay attention to news like this? Of course they do! Actions of competitors is one of the major categories included in strategic analysis. Granted, they aren't reading AppleInsider for their news, but they are getting the same information and making decisions based on it. Articles like this help readers understand why Apple does whatever it does in the future.
Seriously, what's the deal with those kinds of posts? As Apple's only substantial competition in the smartphone arena, news about their product line and market share is just as relevant as news about Apple. I don't think I even needed to say that, though. I'm just feeding trolls here.