Smaller Phone Makers Challenge Samsung In Android Market

Just when it seemed like the Android market was becoming entirely synonymous with Samsung, smaller vendors appear to be gaining traction. That’s according to new hardware figures from IDC.

Samsung remained the world’s dominant phone maker (Nokia is number two, but not in the smartphone top 5). The Korean company shipped more than 72 million units in the quarter compared to Apple’s 31 million. However, both companies lost overall market share as LG, Lenovo and ZTE collectively gained 3.1 percentage points on the market leaders.

Source: IDC

Strategy Analytics released a competing report that showed a massive jump in Samsung’s market share vs. a year ago. The company’s numbers are directionally in agreement (though not identical) with the IDC figures above.

Source: Strategy Analytics

Earlier today, Samsung announced Q2 earnings. The company said that profit grew by almost 50 percent. Mobile profits were up, but financial analysts expressed concerns that prices for high-end smartphones are falling, the market is maturing, and demand for the Galaxy S4 has not been as strong as expected.

Apple CEO Tim Cook expressed confidence during Apple’s earnings call this week that there remains a lot of growth potential at the high end of the smartphone market. However, the IDC report indicates that much of the growth is in the lower-end of the market and in developing countries.