After matching Apple when it came to getting smartphones out the warehouse door at the end of 2014, the latest research shows Samsung is now back in the number one spot, having shipped 83.2 million smartphones during the first three months of 2015. That’s up from 74.5 million at the end of last year, a figure matched at the time by Apple.
Apple’s shipments fell to 61.2 million between January and March, putting the company in second position behind Samsung, both of which are way ahead of Lenovo/Motorola in third place, collectively shipping 18.8 million devices over the same time. Close behind, in fourth, is Huawei with 17.3 million shipments.
These figures come from Strategy Analytics, which also collated market share for the top smartphone players. Samsung’s performance nets it a 24.1-percent share of the global smartphone market, leaving Apple with 17.7 percent, Lenovo/Motorola with 5.4 percent, and Huawei with 5 percent.
Strategy Analytics also released figures on the number of mobile phones — a figure which includes feature phones, not just smartphones — shipped globally. This revealed how Microsoft is performing, and the news isn’t good. At the beginning of 2015, Microsoft had 33.7 million phone shipments on the books, down 33 percent on the end of 2014, giving it a 7.6-percent marketshare — an all-time low, according to analysts. In total, it’s estimated 445 million phones have been shipped already this year.
How will this change over the coming months? Samsung’s expecting to increase its lead now the Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge are on sale, and has stated sales have been “exceeding all reasonable expectations.” Microsoft isn’t predicting anything quite so grand, but will be counting on Windows 10 making an impact to increase its smartphone sales. A new flagship phone wouldn’t go amiss, either.
