TrendForce: Samsung dominates smartphone market with 27.8% share

Samsung continues to dominate the global smartphone market with a market share of 27.8% in the first quarter, as the South Korean firm's flagship models, the Galaxy S6 and the S6 Edge, succeeded in capturing consumers' attention.

Tech research firm TrendForce said in a report, based on preliminary sales data, that Samsung's market share has improved to 27.8% in the first quarter from 24.7% in the fourth quarter of 2014.

Compared with the previous flagship model, the Galaxy S5, the Galaxy S6 and the S6 Edge have substantial improvements in components specifications to revive consumer interest in the Samsung brand, TrendForce said. The S6 Edge, which features a touch screen that curves to both sides of the phone, also created a buzz among customers.

TrendForce estimates the shipments of these two flagship models will surpass 20 million units in the second quarter. Samsung earlier said it expects record shipments for its new Galaxy S6 smartphones.

Apple came in at number two on the list with a market share of 19.9%, but the iPhone maker's share of the pie declined from 23.2% in the fourth quarter.

"The ongoing excitement for iPhone 6 and 6 Plus drove the first quarter shipments of all iPhone products to exceed 55M units. Apple also set itself firmly as the number one sales brand in China in the first quarter, where the demand for iPhones is especially strong," TrendForce said.

Samsung is projected to ship over 80 million units in the second quarter, while Apple will ship approximately 45 million units. Their second-quarter shipments in turn will drive the overall global shipments to an estimated 311 million units, translating to a quarterly growth of 6.8%.

With a market share of 7%, China's Huawei came in at number three, followed by LG at 6.2% and Lenovo at 6%.

Global smartphone shipments for the first quarter reached 291.2 million units, a drop of 9.2% compared with the prior quarter, TrendForce said. The decline was primarily attributed to a weak smartphone market in China.

TrendForce expects that China's internal market will reduce some of the overall inventory pressure during the coming Chinese Labour Day sales. In the second quarter, shipments of Chinese smartphone brands are expected to reach 122 million units in total, representing a 14.8% increase over their first quarter shipments.