From 1st to 5th
Samsung Electronics' ranking in the Chinese smartphone market went down from first to fifth place in just one year, owing to low-priced offensives from local companies like Xiaomi and the huge popularity of the iPhone 6 and the iPhone 6+.
Market research firm IDC announced on Feb. 18 that Samsung accounted for 7.9 percent of the Chinese smartphone market in the fourth quarter of last year, which placed the firm in the fifth spot. The number is a year-on-year drop of 49.9 percent.
Xiaomi, on the other hand, saw its market share grow 150 percent year-on-year to reach 13.7 percent, nabbing the top position as a result. Apple was in the runner-up position with a 12.3 percent share, helped by the successful launch of the iPhone 6 and the iPhone 6+ in China.
The third and fourth spots were taken by Huawei (an 11 percent share) and Lenovo (a 9.5 percent share), respectively.
Samsung's decrease in market share is mainly attributable to challenges by Chinese handset makers. The Korean tech giant became the top-ranked company in Q4 2013 with an 18.8 percent share, beating Lenovo (13.2 percent), Huawei (10.2 percent), Apple (7.4 percent), and Xiaomi (6.5percent).