Washington, July 23

Samsung remained the top global smartphone vendor in the second quarter despite slowing sales, while Apple and Chinese manufacturers boosted market share, a survey showed today.

The quarterly survey by research firm IDC showed the global market for smartphones grew 11.6 per cent from a year ago to 337.2 million units, the second highest quarterly total on record.

South Korea’s Samsung led the market with a 21.7 per cent market share, even though sales dipped from a year earlier and its share was below 24.8 per cent in same period a year ago.

Apple, which briefly took the lead in the fourth quarter of 2014 with its new iPhones, saw its market share rise more than two points from a year earlier to 14.1 per cent, IDC said.

But some of the biggest gains came from Chinese manufacturers with their more affordable handsets.

Huawei took the number three position with an 8.9 per cent share, thanks to strong European and domestic sales, which helped the Chinese group’s 48 per cent year-over-year sales growth.

“Overall growth of smartphone market was not only driven by the success of premium flagship devices from Samsung, Apple, and others, but more importantly by the abundance of affordable sets that continue to drive shipments in many key markets,” said Anthony Scarsella, research manager with IDC.

IDC said the entry-level smartphones are gaining ground as consumers move away from basic mobile handsets or ‘feature phones’.

Xiaomi, a rising star from China, was the fourth largest vendor with 5.3 per cent of the market.