Samsung might have launched four critically acclaimed smartphones this year (the Galaxy S6, S6 edge, S6 edge+ and the Note 5), but it seems they weren't enough for the company's global market share. According to TrendForce, the Korean giant's year-on-year shipment growth has spiraled downwards for the first time since it rose to the top all those years ago.
Samsung's market share declined in the third quarter of 2015 over the last one, with a share of 24.6 percent. TrendForce had expected the Galaxy S6 would sell up to 50 million units by the end of this year, but it has now lowered that projection to 40 million units, no doubt because the Note 5 and S6 edge+ came out a little too early to spoil the original S6 lineup's party. Over in Cupertino, the iPhone's share of the market declined as well, though Apple is expected to gain back the lost market share with the launch of the iPhone 6s and the iPhone 6s Plus.
The only manufacturers to see increased shipments in the third quarter were Huawei and Lenovo. Huawei is the first Chinese smartphone manufacturer to reach 100 million smartphone shipments in the country's history, which isn't surprising considering the rapid rise the company has seen in the last year or so. Samsung is no doubt worried considering China is one of the most important smartphone markets right now, and it will be facing severe competition from both Apple and Huawei going forward.
Samsung doesn't have to worry too much, however, as its entry-level devices have started regaining the popularity they had in the company's heyday. If it can keep the momentum and deliver better devices at lower prices in the future, we should see its market share start going back in a positive direction, or at least maintain its lead over the others.
