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Samsung usurped the top spot from Apple in the U.S. smartphone market in March

posted by Luis D. / May 05, 2016, 3:07 AM

Samsung usurped the top spot from Apple in the U.S. smartphone market in March

The first half of 2016 will be one to remember for Samsung, as the Korean megacorp's mobile division successfully ousted Apple from the U.S. market's number one spot by capturing a 28.8% market share. Apple ranked right behind with 23%, while LG Electronics won itself the bronze with 17.1%.

The Samsung Galaxy S7 and S7 edge have been strong sellers in America, enjoying a more enthusiastic consumer response than the sixth-generation smartphones before them. In early April, Counterproint claimed that the Galaxy S7 saw 30% higher sales in the USA than its predecessor during its opening month. According to Research Director Jeff Fieldhack, shifting the launch to early March worked out great for Samsung, as carriers and retailers needed a product to drive store traffic in the traditionally slow first quarter. Also, the company supplemented its sales strategy by bundling attractive products like VR headsets and offering buy-one-get-one deals.

Good market strategy and waning interest in the iPhone helped Samsung reach the top.

Slow iPhone 6s sales have also given Samsung an advantage. Last year, Galaxy S6 sales were hurt by the iPhone 6, which presented strong motivators for smartphone users to upgrade. In 2016, though, the new iPhone 6s doesn't enjoy the same demand, which put the Galaxy S7 in a much easier position. Moreover, supply constraints with the Galaxy S6 let to Samsung losing a window of opportunity, but the company recouped.

It's not just Sammy benefiting from Apple's troubles, though. LG's sales have been taking off too, in the weeks following the LG G5's introduction. This period wasn't covered by first quarter financial and sales reports, which means we'll be learning more about the modular flagship's performance by the end of June. Looking ahead, LG anticipates a global expansion of G5 sales, driven by a significant marketing investment and the smartphone's novelty factor.

source: Business Korea , Counterpoint Research

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52 Comments

1. yoosufmuneer

Posts: 1518; Member since: Feb 14, 2015

Thats good news!

posted on May 05, 2016, 3:10 AM 17

13. joey_sfb

Posts: 6794; Member since: Mar 29, 2012

Indeed! Can hear Mxy crying like a baby!

posted on May 05, 2016, 3:59 AM 20

26. phonearenarocks

Posts: 607; Member since: Mar 26, 2015

woohoo Apple is falling!!!

posted on May 05, 2016, 5:52 AM 4

28. maherk

Posts: 7011; Member since: Feb 10, 2012

And Kumar lol

posted on May 05, 2016, 6:24 AM 12

31. meanestgenius

Posts: 22478; Member since: May 28, 2014

Lmao! +1

posted on May 05, 2016, 6:33 AM 6

17. UglyFrank

Posts: 2194; Member since: Jan 23, 2014

This article should include "it's that time of year." Because it happens every year.......

posted on May 05, 2016, 4:20 AM 1

36. ph00ny

Posts: 2069; Member since: May 26, 2011

i don't think it happened in the US market in a long time

posted on May 05, 2016, 7:53 AM 7

47. marorun

Posts: 5029; Member since: Mar 30, 2015

Samsung never beaten Apple in its home turf. Try again apple apologist.

posted on May 05, 2016, 2:12 PM 3

2. tech2

Posts: 3487; Member since: Oct 26, 2012

I think a lot of it had to with the fact Samsung is probably one of the few big companies who actually listen to their consumers. -People asked for a better non-plastic device, they delivered. -People asked for return of MicroSD, they delivered. -People said we don't care about slim phones just give us bigger batteries, they delivered. -People said the low-light photos of S6 was not the best, they delivered. -People asked them to scale down the release of so many devices, they delivered. Say what you will about Samsung but overall Samsung is extremely adaptable and great at bringing new tech to market quicker due to their vertical integration. The results are showing.

posted on May 05, 2016, 3:11 AM 38

14. jeevanand88 unregistered

Except its OTA updates bro...!! If its OTA is inline with nexus devices then samsung goes beyond the reach of any mobile companies....

posted on May 05, 2016, 4:01 AM 4

18. siddharthayadav202

Posts: 286; Member since: Apr 23, 2016

I seriously think that they will gey closer to nexus soon.. Maybe in 1-2 year. Removing bloat and all will give them more time ans resources. They are busy trying to get a fixed lineup for their phones. Once they decide selected series and stop making more ones, their updates will increase in number. They dropped E series as it was bested by J series. They and now likely planning 4 tiers. S- Flagship A- High end O- Med (last year's A series) J- (Low and lower mid) I can see about 15 phones a year which will be a lot better than their current style :p Let hope they succed.

posted on May 05, 2016, 4:20 AM 8

27. Forerunner7

Posts: 35; Member since: Dec 11, 2013

Not exactly, I own a SGS6 and their 6.0.1 update has been prompt, compare to other OEM (exclude Nexus since Google didnt have to apply any skin on it) especially their hotfix is like week apart.

posted on May 05, 2016, 6:16 AM 0

48. marorun

Posts: 5029; Member since: Mar 30, 2015

HTC received the 6.01 way before samsung, same for LG G4 even my moto x play had it way before. Almost all big OEM had it before... As for Techie excuses international version of those update where also out from other OEM before samsung. Too much crap on samsung phone.

posted on May 05, 2016, 2:15 PM 0

43. TechieXP1969

Posts: 14967; Member since: Sep 25, 2013

This isn't even a valid complaint. SAMSUNGHAS timely updates. If it's taking to long stop buying phones from carriers and get the International version.

posted on May 05, 2016, 12:36 PM 0

45. Ninetysix

Posts: 2965; Member since: Oct 08, 2012

Yes to the lucky 18% Samsung userbase. LOL. Try again brosephine. http://www.androidauthority.com/samsung-sued-update-phones-668328/ "Consumentenbond says 82% of the Samsung phones it checked were not updated within two years of their introduction."

posted on May 05, 2016, 1:19 PM 0

46. tsp38

Posts: 38; Member since: Jun 04, 2015

I think that is an unrealistic expectation. any manufacturer's Android update will be at least one step later than Nexus devices. BUT yeah, I agree, they can be faster.. what needs to happen is less bloatware from the manufacturer AND the carriers.. that way, they can speed things up a bit. I believe they're getting pretty good at it though. I'm sure they realize fast Android updates are one of the things people think about.

posted on May 05, 2016, 2:02 PM 0

50. marorun

Posts: 5029; Member since: Mar 30, 2015

Just stop carrier from putting bloatware 100% and make update come from OEM directly. Case closed.

posted on May 05, 2016, 2:16 PM 2

16. TheUnbiasedGuy

Posts: 50; Member since: Apr 21, 2016

It is also due to the fact that much more people are becoming increasingly knowledgeable about tech in comparison to say 2-3 years.So when they compare specs and find out about more ram,high resolution display etc.They get the feeling of their money well spent after investing in Samsung and LG phones.And frankly Samsung bring much more to the table than Apple in terms of pricing.

posted on May 05, 2016, 4:03 AM 0

25. sarcastic_nerd unregistered

I'll believe that once they solve their update situation.

posted on May 05, 2016, 5:46 AM 0

32. tech2

Posts: 3487; Member since: Oct 26, 2012

LOL....Can't satisfy everyone. The list never ends.

posted on May 05, 2016, 6:36 AM 6

33. yoosufmuneer

Posts: 1518; Member since: Feb 14, 2015

Thats a good point. Microsoft (I mean Windows) does it too. They have a feedback app dedicated for feedback. They are bringing back and adding a lot of stuff.