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Samsung is No. 1 in global smartphone shipments, Apple is king in North America

Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge top angle
Giuliano Correia/Digital Trends
About 1 in 5 smartphones shipped around the world in the second quarter of 2015 was a Samsung, according to a recent report.

In the second quarter, 21 percent of smartphones shipped worldwide were Samsung handsets, according to market research firm Counterpoint. Apple was second with 14 percent of smartphones shipped around the world, followed by Huawei with 9 percent, Xiaomi with 5 percent, ZTE with 5 percent, LG with 4 percent, and TCL/Alcatel with 3 percent.

While Samsung boasted market-leading smartphone shipments to the Asia, Europe, Latin America, and Middle East and Africa regions, it played second fiddle to Apple in North America. In the second quarter, Apple claimed 34 percent of smartphone shipments in North America, followed by Samsung with 26 percent, and LG with 14 percent.

Counterpoint - Q2 2015 smartphone shipments
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Three out of every four mobile phones shipped around the world in the second quarter were smartphones, according to Counterpoint. “Excluding Samsung, Apple now generates more smartphone revenues than all the other players combined,” according to the research company.

Counterpoint also notes that 1 in 2 smartphones shipped in the second quarter were LTE capable, and that the U.S. and China combined to account for two-thirds of LTE smartphone shipments.

Earlier this month, Samsung shot down reports that it would lay off 10 percent of its South Korea-based workforce, stating that “It will only be relocation of workers.”

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Jason Hahn
Jason Hahn is a part-time freelance writer based in New Jersey. He earned his master's degree in journalism at Northwestern…
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