Samsung loses out to Apple in Q4 2016 global sales numbers and market share

Apple has finally managed to beat Samsung in the global smartphone market for the first time in quite a few years. A report published by Strategy Analytics clearly shows that in the fourth quarter of 2016, Apple captured 17.8% of the market share, while Samsung had to remain content with 17.7%. This difference of 0.1% may not seem like much of a difference, but it does confirm that Apple outsold Samsung, even if it was for just one quarter of 2016.

As one can guess, the defeat was largely a result of the Note 7's failure. Once you consider the fact that Samsung did not have a major flagship in the playing field during the holiday season when every other major competitor had put in one, the 5% dip in sales starts to make more sense. Apple shipped 78.3 million units around the world during the last quarter and broke a barrage of sales records with the latest iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus. Samsung on the other hand, sold 77.5 million smartphones in Q4 2016, which isn't really that bad, once you consider their unfortunate situation.

In a year to year comparison, Apple lost market share in 2016. Whereas the company enjoyed 16.1% share of the global smartphone market in 2015, it dipped to 14.5% in 2016. In spite of enjoying record breaking sales numbers with the iPhone 7 series, Q4 2016 brought only 17.8% of the market share to Apple, while Q4 2015 had brought them 18.6%. Samsung on the other hand, lost more significant portions of the market share both in a year-to-year comparison, as well as in a quarter-to-quarter comparison. Check out the screenshot to understand what we are talking about.

Saikat Kar (tech-enthusiast)