The American technology company Apple has reduced its gap with South Korea’s Samsung, the long-time leader in the smartphone market, in the third quarter, according to calculations by experts from IDC.
In the period from July to September, Samsung sold 59.6 million mobile phones, while Apple sold 53.6 million, the analytical company estimated on Thursday.
This raised Samsung’s market share to 19.7 percent and Apple’s to 17.7 percent, they calculated. Just in the second quarter, Apple lagged behind Samsung by about four percentage points.
The decisive factor for Apple’s reduced gap was an 8.4 percent year-on-year decline in Samsung’s sales. Apple, on the other hand, sold 2.5 percent more iPhones than in the same period last year.
Apple typically rises to the top of the global rankings in the last quarter of the year, thanks to the introduction of new models. However, Samsung traditionally leads for the entire year.
In the period from July to September, the third place was taken by Chinese Xiaomi, which, according to IDC’s calculations, sold 2.4 percent more mobile phones than in the same period last year, with a market share of 13.7 percent.
Chinese Transsion has secured the status of a “rising star” by relying mainly on the African market. In the third quarter, they sold 35 percent more smartphones than in the same period last year, totaling 26 million, and built a market share of 8.6 percent.
