2016 seems to be doing all sorts of good to Samsung. Its pair of flagship smartphones, the Galaxy S7 and S7 edge, are receiving accolades from both the specialized press (including us) and customers, and the momentum will probably be kept up come the Galaxy Note 7, a little over a month from now.
Consumers in particular seem to be really happy with Samsung’s recent output, so much so that its sales are soaring arguably beyond expectations…
An interesting piece published today by Kantar WorldPanel is in fact reporting that the combined sales of the Galaxy S7 and S7 edge have surpassed those of the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus pair in the US over the recently ended quarter. In the three months ending in May, Samsung accounted for 37% of the smartphone sales, with Apple peaking at 29%.
The news comes after three specific episodes that saw the Korean company positioned above the Cupertino firm in various areas: from the former regaining its first position as top brand in Asia to a victory in terms of sales as renewed number one smartphone OEM in the States, all while seeing its Note 5 being crowned as “America’s most loved phone” over the iPhone.
The interesting part is however the one mentioning the two Galaxys, whose 16% sales share is sitting higher than the iPhones’ 14.6%; that would not only be a testament to Samsung’s (literally) monumental marketing campaign — and, indeed, hard work on admittedly good products — but also a reminder that Apple’s explosive growth has slowly come to an end.
Other bits of the report mention that the two companies’ strength is however still dominant in most markets; the US and the UK, for instance, see Apple and Samsung claiming the entire top 10 list of smartphones sold. “Only when expanding our view to the top 20 do we begin to see brands such as LG (in the US) and Sony (in the UK) make an appearance.”
It’ll be intriguing to see how the market will evolve in the coming years, however; with Huawei pressing to overthrow Apple as the second-largest OEM by the end of 2020 and the rise of Xiaomi as a valid competitor even outside the home stronghold of China — let alone Google‘s potential moves in the hardware segment, now under former Motorola COO Rick Osterloh — the biggest manufacturers on the planet will need to pay more attention than ever.
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