Samsung shipped 73.21 million smartphones in the July-September period, down about 7 million units from a year earlier, according to data compiled by Gartner Inc., an American information technology research and advisory firm.
Gartner attributed the decrease in part to a sharp decline in sales of Samsung Galaxy smartphones in China, the world's largest smartphone market. Samsung's share in the Chinese market plunged 28.6 percent over the cited period.
Apple Inc., on the other hand, saw its market share rise to 12.7 percent in the third quarter, by selling 38.19 million smartphones, up nearly 8 million units from a year earlier, the data said.
Apple's sales will likely reach an all-time high in the fourth quarter, helped by rising popularity of iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 plus, Gartner said.
Three Chinese makers expanded their presence in the world market in the third quarter, with Huawei, Xiaomi and Lenovo claiming a combined 15.5 percent market share, up 4.1 percentage points from the corresponding period last year.
Xiaomi took up a 5.2 percent share, with its sales reaching 15.7 million units, a four-fold rise from 3.62 million units tallied a year earlier.
Huawei and Lenovo had a 5.3 percent and 5.0 percent share, respectively.
reporter
Park Sae-jin
swatchsjp@ajunews.com
