Beleaguered Samsung Electronic's problematic Samsung Galaxy Note 7 has finally taken its toll on them as its five-year consecutive reign as the world's top smartphone manufacturer has just been taken by its fiercest rival Apple Inc. And things are looking even better for the Cupertino-based firm as 2017 is its 10th year in iPhone-making.
Business Wire, has reported that Apple has narrowly beaten the South Korean tech behemoth as it shipped 78.3 million devices while Samsung has 800,000 less of it. The new data has revealed that the Cupertino-based company has recaptured the lead after five years from 2016's last three months. It generated 17.8 percent of the global market share while Samsung has taken 17.7 percent.
The independent research firm has also shared that Samsung's fourth quarter shipments were trimmed down with only 3.8 million year-over-year, a decline where the explosive batteries of Note 7 could be attributed to. Meanwhile, the company's 2016's fourth quarter share along with its 20.8 annual share are its lowest since 2011. Now, while this is a depressed number for Samsung, the company still has managed to outsell Apple in 2016 with 309 million smartphones while the latter has generated 215 million.
Meanwhile, director of Strategy Analytics Woody Oh has added that Huawei Technologies has maintained its third position in its global share with a record of 10 percent during the fourth quarter of 2016. On the other hand, fellow Chinese smartphone manufacturer OPPO has held its fourth position with its 7 percent global smartphone market share during the same period. OPPO's current outing is unprecedented as it almost doubled its generated share in 2015 with 4 percent.
Rounding up the list is another Chinese tech player Vivo that managed to hold its fifth place. It recorded an impressive 6 percent in the marketshare in Q4 2016. Vivo's recent releases include the X9 and its forthcoming V5 Plus that will boast a 20-megapixel (MP) dual camera feature.
