Apple beats Samsung to become the top smartphone seller, Huawei is quickly catching up

Apple has clinched the top position in the smartphone market leaving Samsung in dust. The Chinese smartphone maker Huawei gained significant grounds in terms of smartphone sales and made to the third spot.

Gartner, a US-based technology research company, brought out a study on the number of total smartphone sold in the last quarter. The report showed that the global smartphone sales grew by 7% during the last quarter of 2016. Apple was the most-sought manufacturer followed by Samsung and Huawei.

In total, 432 million units of smartphones were sold in the last quarter. Of the total, Apple sold about 77 thousand smartphones. Samsung, on the other hand, was able to sell about 76 thousand smartphones. Huawei wasn’t much behind; selling 40 thousand units, it made to the third spot.

“Samsung’s smartphone sales started to drop in the third quarter of 2016, and the decision to discontinue the Galaxy Note 7 slowed down sales of its smartphone portfolio in the fourth quarter,” said Mr. Gupta, the Research Director at Gartner. “The withdrawal of the Galaxy Note 7 left a gap in its large-screen phone range.” Within months after withdrawal of Note 7, Huawei positioned itself favorably by introducing Mate 9, its premium offering.

This time last year, Samsung held about 21% of the total smartphone market. This time, the global recall of Samsung Note 7 forced the sales to dip by as much as 3%. Apple, on the other hand, was able to hold 17.9% of the total market, a 0.2% increase from last year. The performance by Huawei remained great, provided it held 9.5% of the total market showing a 1.5% rise.

Overall, for the complete year, Samsung, however, was at the top spot. Apple came in at number two and Huawei was still  third.

The dynamics of the smartphone market is on a roll. Apple was able to gain the top spot after 8 quarters, while the legendary titans including Blackberry and Nokia can nowhere be seen, at least to the top.

The Chinese smartphone vendors which are known for making great phones in lesser prices are growing their worldwide market very quickly. Oppo, BBK (the company behind OnePlus series), Xiaomi, and Huawei all saw rise in their worldwide sales.