After losing to Samsung in the first 2 quarters, Apple has reclaimed the position of the top smartphone manufacturer in the United States. The report which comes from Strategic Analytics also reveals a decline in shipments compared to last quarter.
Apple may have reclaimed the number one spot but it only shipped 12 million smartphones in Q3 2017, compared to 13 million in Q3 2016. However, that figure still gave it 30% of the market share. Reasons provided for the dip include the lukewarm reception of the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus, in addition to them going on sale in September, and plenty of customers who rather waited for the iPhone X. Sadly, the iPhone X didn’t make the cut as it went on sale this quarter (Q4).
Samsung is second on the list with 9.9 million shipments, 200,000 more than what it recorded in Q3 2016. The bulk of its shipment is said to be shared between the Galaxy S8 in the high-end category and the Galaxy A5 in the mid-range category.
LG clinches the third spot with a 17.2% market share and 6.8 million shipments. According to Linda Sui, a director at Strategic Analytics, she said “…LG has expanded its retail presence at major operators this year, like Sprint and AT&T, and this is helping LG to stay one step ahead of ambitious new rivals such as ZTE.”.
ZTE is 4th on the list with 4.6 million units; 1 million units more than the same period in 2016. The Chinese manufacturer’s success is attributed to its success in the prepaid segment, most especially its partnership with Tracfone. ZTE has also been able to capture market share formerly owned by TCL(Alcatel) and Blu.
READ MORE: IDC Research: Apple, Amazon Tablet Sales Grow, But Overall Tablet Sales Continue to Decline
Closing the top 5 is Motorola. This is its first time of entering the top 5 since 2015. The Lenovo-owned company was able to nearly double its shipments from last year thanks to its expanded distribution with America’s top carriers and the success of phones like the Moto Z2 Play.
