Apple and Samsung loses smartphone market share

Apple and Samsung loses smartphone market share

The recent report by Strategy Analytics showed that both Apple and Samsung had lost market share in the mobile phone market.  It is interesting to note that both Samsung and Apple actually shipped more devices during the first quarter of 2014 as compared to last year.  What this means is that both companies are still growing in the mobile market, just that they are not growing as fast as the market itself is.

The main reason for this drop in market share can be due to the fact that a bulk of the share is actually coming from emerging markets, especially China.  This is seen by both Huawei and Lenovo growing their shipments.  Both Chinese firms accounted for 4.7 percent of the market during the first quarter of 2014.

The emergence of more cheaper Android handsets are beginning to eat into market shares of Samsung and Apple and it is becoming more evident now.  Apple haven’t been catering to emerging markets and have yet to release any entry-level smartphone that is more affordable to consumers in these regions.   Innovation has played an important role in the success of the Apple’s products.  However, the lack of new killer features in recent releases has seemed to result in the company losing their market share.  This, coupled with the fact that there is a lack in an entry-level smartphone model, resulted in Apple losing their status as a the market leader over the years. 

Despite the lack of presence in this area, Apple is still performing very strongly at the premium end of the smartphone segment.  As a result, Samsung continues to face tough competition from Apple at the higher-end of the smartphone market and from Chinese brands such as Huawei and Lenovo at the lower-end.

Huawei is beginning to expand into Europe and Lenovo recently announced their plans to takeover Motorola.   If the takeover is approved, these companies will create a bigger competition for the two market leaders.