“At the same time the number of unlocked/off-contract offerings has increased significantly and it’s slowly starting to resonate with consumers”. These factors put pressure on Android manufacturers like Samsung for phones priced above $500, said Ryan Reith, another IDC analyst.
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“The third quarter placed a substantial emphasis on flagship devices as vendors tried to outclass each other in both features and design”, Anthony Scarsella, IDC research manager for mobile phones, said in a statement. “New flagship models translated to fiercer competition at the high-end for most players as many will try to challenge both Samsung and Apple for a place among the elite”.
Despite the fact that Apple’s latest iPhones have been very successful since launch, with over 13 million iPhone 6s and 6s Plus units sold in the first weekend of market availability, the Cupertino giant still lags behind Samsung in terms of quarterly global sales, according to a new report. Samsung, meanwhile, continues to focus on its entry level, under-$200 devices in emerging markets with the Galaxy Core and J-Series. Ranking third, the Chinese smartphone maker saw a whopping 60.9 percent increase in smartphone shipments to 26.5 million, claiming 7.5 percent of sales globally.
“Momentum for iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus remained very strong across the quarter and we established a new launch record for iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus near the end of the quarter”, he stressed on Tuesday. In addition, the smartphone company cut prices across its older iPhone 5 and iPhone 6 models to drive more sales, as well as launch a new upgrade plan to drive growth in developed markets.
Throughout the July-September 2015 timeframe, Apple sold enough smartphones to maintain its second place on the podium. Devices like the Honor 6 Plus and Ascend P8 helped grow the mid-to-high range 25% from a year ago according to Huawei. The firm’s partnership to produce Google’s Nexus 6P phone “could signal that Huawei is finally ready to seriously compete in the U.S.”, IDC said.
Rounding out the top five was Xiaomi, which shipped 18.3 million smartphones in the third quarter, bringing its 2015 total to 52.1 million, thanks in large part to the brand’s popularity within China.
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Reporting steady growth in smartphone shipments, Huawei Consumer Business Group (BG) has announced its performance results for the third quarter of 2015.
