Samsung Still Dominant In US Smartphone Market

By Sarah Price - 07 Aug '14 12:28PM

Samsung continues to dominate the smartphone market in the US despite losing turf in countries like China and India.

Samsung, the renowned smartphone making company, has been going through some rough patches lately. The Korean tech giant lost its dominance in significant markets like China, which is the world's largest market for smartphones, and in India, which is emerging as a smartphone dominant country. However, Samsung has impressed its consumers in the US so much that it managed to hold on to its number one position in the smartphone market.

The latest findings compiled by Counterpoint Research found Samsung smartphones accounted for 36.1 percent of the US shipments during the second quarter this year, which is up 2.2 percent from the same period last year. Samsung's dominance in the smartphone sector is due to the impressive sales of its flagship Galaxy S5, which generated 50 percent more volumes than Galaxy S4 last year.

"Apple & Samsung have combined controlled two-thirds of the US smartphone market for since last 10 quarters and its turning into a zero-sum game," the report explained. "Overall, the competitive landscape in US market is now a three pronged race between Apple, Samsung and other players combined each owning roughly a third of the market."

All major smartphone companies have recorded growth in the US smartphone industry between May and July 2014 compared to a year earlier.

Apple, chief rival to Samsung, had a 3.8 percent increase between Q2 2013 and Q2 2014. The Cupertino-based tech titan accounted for 29.7 percent of total smartphone shipments in the US during the research period. Similarly, LG contributed 11 percent towards the US smartphone shipments and LG and ZTE accounted for 4.5 percent each.

Counterpoint Research also surveyed overall mobile phones and smartphone segments in the US, where Samsung took the lead and Apple trailed. The Korean tech giant slipped slightly in the overall handset shipments share in the US, a mere 1.4 percent, but managed a top position.