Samsung Vs Apple: Galaxy S6 maker back on top despite record iPhone 6 sales | City A.M.
Apple may have had another incredible quarter with the huge success of the new iPhone 6, but Samsung managed to steal back the much sought after smartphone crown from the world's biggest company.
Samsung recaptured the title of the world's largest seller of smartphones by volume, shipping 83.2m devices in the first quarter of the year, versus Apple's 61.2m.
In market share terms, Samsung accounted for 24 per cent and Apple 17.7 per cent as the South Korean firm managed to stabilise its performance globally - despite challenges in Asia and elsewhere - helping it leapfrog rival Apple.
Samsung and Apple were in a dead heat in the previous quarter, having each shipped 74.5m smartphones and accounting for a 19.6 per cent share each, according to research by Strategy Analytics.
Samsung may have won this battle, but Apple is winning the war.
The Korean electronics giant which makes everything from TVs to fridges in addition to smartphones, saw profit declined 31 per cent in the first quarter of 2015, though that was a more moderated decline than expected. It has faced increasing competition from the growth of Chinese manufacturers such as Xiaomi, Huawei and HTC at the mid and low-priced end of the smartphone range over the past year.
In figures released today, the firm revealed the mobile and IT part of the business raked in 2.74tn won (£1.7bn), less than half of last year's 6.43tn won but better than the previous quarter's 1.96tn won. Samsung said it shipped more smartphones due to more mid to low-end product sales.
In the second quarter, it expects both smartphone and tablet demand to stagnate due to "continued weak seasonality," however its flagship new high-end handset, the Galaxy S6, is expected to boost earnings.
Apple meanwhile, with far fewer products to its name, increased revenue 27 per cent to $58bn (£38bn) in its second quarter it was revealed in another stunning set of results earlier this week.
The US tech giant is now worth $775bn (£503bn).