267 million smartphones shipped globally in first quarter of this year; Samsung leads with 30% share

According to market researcher TrendForce, smartphone shipments hit 266.9 million units worldwide during the first quarter of 2014. The three month period from January through March, saw shipments of the intelligent handsets rise 1.13% sequentially. For the current quarter, which runs from April through June, TrendForce sees smartphone shipments expanding 6.7% to reach 284.5 million globally.

Korean based manufacturer Samsung held the top spot with a 30% share of global smartphone shipments. When many think of the brand, the high-end Samsung Galaxy S5 and Samsung Galaxy Note 3 come to mind. But TrendForce said that Sammy captured the top spot with its low to mid-range devices. The research firm added that Apple had a decline in market share for the second quarter, but that is expected to reverse in the second half of 2014 when the  Apple iPhone 6 is released. The Cupertino based tech titan is currently second to Samsung with its share of global smartphone shipments.

Chinese brands took market share away from global manufacturers. Huawei, Xiaomi and Lenovo (not including Motorola) each owned more than 20% of smartphone shipments in Q1.

source: DigiTimes