Apple’s streak ends as Samsung seizes U.S. smartphone crown for March

By Robert Nazarian Published May 5, 2016

Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge — Andy Boxall/Digital Trends

Apple wasn’t kidding when it warned of slower iPhone sales. The Cupertino, California, company had a nice run in which it led smartphone market share in the U.S. for 11 straight months, but all that changed in March.

According to Counterpoint Research, based in Hong Kong, Samsung dethroned Apple for the top spot in March with a 28.8 percent market share. Apple took second place with 23 percent.

Recommended Videos

Samsung’s success was mostly due to the early March launches of the Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge. Major phone launches usually drive sales right away, but it appears Samsung is off to an even better start this year. Last year, when the Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge were released in April 2015, Samsung couldn’t even muster the top spot for that month.

Please enable Javascript to view this content

Counterpoint also reported that this year’s Galaxy phones are enjoying a 30 percent spike over last year. Analysts are also embracing Samsung. Couple that with Apple’s warnings of slowed iPhone growth, and Samsung could be in for a nice ride.

But don’t count your chickens before they hatch because Apple’s iPhone SE didn’t become available until the end of March. It might not be a blockbuster phone for Apple, but the company did say that sales were higher than expected.

Let’s not forget LG Electronics, which came in third during the month of March with a 17.1 percent market share. Its G5 flagship phone wasn’t released until early April.

Does Samsung have the muscle to stay on top until the iPhone 7 is released?

Topics

Robert Nazarian

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Robert Nazarian became a technology enthusiast when his parents bought him a Radio Shack TRS-80 Color. Now his biggest…

Mobile

Apple might discontinue its most ‘courageous’ iPhone accessory

Apple's Lightning to 3.5mm headphone adapter.

Apple introduced the iPhone 7 in 2016. The phone is noted for being the first Apple handset to ship without a traditional 3.5mm headphone jack — something Apple infamously praised as a move that took "courage."

At a time when most wired headphones needed one of those jacks to listen to music, Apple had an interesting solution: a Lightning to 3.5mm headphone jack adapter that shipped with every new phone. According to MacRumors, Apple is set to end production on that accessory.

Mobile

It’s the end of the road for these two iPhone models

Apple iPhone 6S Plus

Seeing your favorite handheld gaming device in a retro store has a unique way of making you feel old, but Apple might have topped it. According to the company, the iPhone XS Max and iPhone 6s Plus are now "vintage." They join the ranks of the iPhone 4 and even the iPad Pro 12.9-inch model.

It's not wholly unexpected. Apple declares a device vintage after five years, and that means it becomes more difficult to have that device repaired or to find replacement parts for it. Obsolete is applied to products that are more than seven years old, but sometimes certain variants get that label early.

Mobile

I tried a new Android phone that puts some of the best smartphone cameras to shame

The rear camera setup on the Oppo Find X8 Pro.

It’s been a few years since I was surprised by a smartphone camera’s zoom performance. With Samsung offering 100x zoom on its Galaxy S Ultra lineup, little has shocked me with smartphone cameras — until now.

The Oppo Find X8 series is the successor to the Find X7 series from last year, and alongside several other improvements, there’s also been a significant upgrade in one area: the 30x zoom. Oppo and OnePlus have great cameras at shorter zoom distances, and at a recent briefing, I discovered that we can now add the 30x zoom to the list.