NEW YORK: The popularity of the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus helped Apple to catch up with Samsung in sales in the last quarter of 2014.
The two companies have been locked in a battle for the top spot since 2011, when Samsung’s Galaxy S line of smartphones helped the South Korean group to steal the crown of the world’s biggest smartphone maker from Apple.
Neil Mawston, executive director at the research company Strategy Analytics, said Apple sold 74.5m smartphones worldwide, giving it a record 20% market share in the three months to 31 December, up from 18% the previous year. That means Apple tied with Samsung as largest smartphone vendor for the first time since the same quarter in 2011.
Samsung also sold 74.5m smartphones for a 20% market share – a significant fall from the 30% market share and 86m smartphones sold in the final quarter of 2013, according to the Strategy Analytics data.
The company’s mobile phone division has struggled, with profits collapsing to 1.96tn won (£1.18bn) in the period, from 5.47tn won in 2013. However, Samsung remained the top smartphone maker for 2014 as a whole, selling 317.2m devices.
Smartphone domination
Apple sold 192.7m iPhones in 2014, up from 153.4m the previous year. In contrast with Samsung’s sales, which include mid-tier and budget models as well as flagship devices, Apple’s flagship-only strategy has resulted in high margins at volume, which was reflected in this week’s record quarterly profits.
Together Apple and Samsung dominate the global smartphone market, with a 40% share. But both are facing increasing pressure from Chinese rivals including Xiaomi – referred to as China’s Apple by analysts – whose sales in China put it in third position globally in the third quarter of 2014.
