Weighed down by Galaxy Fold Controversy
Samsung Electronics' share in the North American smartphone market fell sharply in the second quarter of this year after soaring above 30 percent in the first quarter.
Samsung Electronics ranked second with a 23.8 percent share in the North American smartphone market in the second quarter of this year, market researcher Strategy Analytics (SA) said on Aug. 4. That was a drop of 6.4 percentage points from the previous quarter's 30.2 percent.
Among the top five companies, Samsung Electronics was the only one that had lost its market share compared to the first quarter. During this period, Apple’s share rose slightly to 35.3 percent from 34.7 percent. LG Electronics also posted a 13.6 percent share, up from 13.3 percent in the previous quarter, rounding out the top three.
Samsung Electronics' market share plunge is attributed to a set of factors. First of all, throughout the second quarter of this year, Samsung Electronics suffered from the controversy over the defective Galaxy Fold. As soon as the Galaxy Fold was released in April, a controversy brewed over its screen defects. Best Buy and AT&T canceled pre-orders in May and June, respectively.
In addition, the Galaxy S10 5G launched in the United States in April did not achieve remarkable results in the second quarter as 5G smartphones were not popularized in the United States yet. In addition, waiting demand for the Apple iPhone 11 scheduled to be released this September influenced Samsung Electronics' share in the second quarter.
The smartphone market is having much anticipation for the launch of the Galaxy Note 10. Samsung Electronics will unveil the Galaxy Note 10 in New York on Aug. 7 (local time). The Galaxy Note 10 will compete with Apple's iPhone 11. Samsung looks to restore consumer trust in the North American market with the Galaxy Note 10.
By contrast, Google distinguished itself by chalking up a 5 percent share for the first time.
The Google Pixel Phone enjoyed a 1.8 percent share on average last year and a 2.3 percent share in the first quarter of this year. However, in May, its budget models -- the Pixel 3a and Pixel 3aXL -- gained in popularity, driving up Google’s share to 5 percent.