Samsung Electronics Came Back As the First Runner in Global Smartphone Market

Samsung Electronics regained the top position in the global smartphone market in the first quarter of the year, even before the release of its latest flagship Galaxy S8.

Samsung produced 80.1 million units of smartphones in the first quarter and accounted for 26.1 percent of the global smartphone market as the #1 player in the global market. On the other hand, Apple, which accounted for 20.3 percent in the fourth quarter of last year as the first runner, came in second in the first quarter this year with a 16.9 percent share, according to the industry watcher TrendForce on April 12.

Because of the suspension of the Galaxy Note 7, the Korean IT giant has lost some momentum in sales of flagship smartphones suffering from the aftermath, but managed to take up 18.5 percent of the market in the fourth quarter of last year.

Industry watchers said Samsung's improved market share is attributable to the increase in sales of mid- and low-end smartphones.

In the meantime, TrendForce said the world's production of smartphones in the first quarter of the year reached 37 million units, down 23 percent from the previous quarter. The market watcher attributed the decline to the slow production of Chinese smartphones.