According to a recent study, Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) and Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. (LON:BC94) (KRX:005930) continue to dominate the smart phone market, but other manufacturers, especially in China, are beginning to make inroads into the two giants’ market share given the fact that they produce these products in the world’s most populous nation. More and more Chinese have found the need for connectivity without necessarily wishing to shell out the added cost of a handset from Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. (LON:BC94) (KRX:005930) or Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL).
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) and Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. (LON:BC94) (KRX:005930) combined account for about 45 percent of all smartphones shipped worldwide in the second quarter of this year. Out of the 238.1 million units shipped last quarter, Samsung shipped 75.6 million, while Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) shipped 31.2 million.
Apple still strong but growth rate is being smashed by newcomers
Apple’s year-over-year shipment growth for the quarter was 20 percent, according to Canalys, while Samsung saw 55 percent growth. The numbers were, however, dwarfed by other manufacturers’ growth numbers.
Lenovo Group Limited (OTCMKTS:LNVGY) more than doubled its smartphone shipments from the year prior, shipping 11.2 million in Q2 compared to 4.9 million in the corresponding quarter in 2012. That puts Lenova in third-place among manufacturers this year. Among the top five, Lenovo’s 131 percent growth was topped only by Yulong, another Chinese firm that saw its sales jump 216 percent from 2012, moving from 3.4 million to 10.8 million.
South Korea’s LG also saw considerable growth in shipments with sales reaching 10.7 million up over 93% from the year-over-year quarter in 2012.
Apple losing ground in Russia, India and Brazil
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) can’t be encouraged by these numbers now that China has become the largest market for smartphones in the world. 88.1 million units were shipped in the second quarter of this year which represents growth of 108%. India’s market is also growing, surpassing both the United Kingdom and Japan in market size. India saw 5 million units shipped this quarter up over 125 percent from the year-over-year quarter in 2012.
Russia and Brazil are also seeing more units received but fewer from Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) who demands a premium for its iPhone. Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. (LON:BC94) (KRX:005930) may be more competitive given the amount of phones they offer at very different price points allowing them to compete with Lenovo, Yulong, Huawei, ZTE, and Xiaomi. Those five collectively now sell about 20% of the world’s smart phones compared to 15% the year prior.
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is largely expected to begin offering a cheaper, plastic iPhone that may allow them to close this expanding game in emerging markets as early as late this year.
