Poor Samsung. After enjoying years of dominance in China its mobile business is taking a nosedive with the company’s growth shrivelling by a staggering 53% in the past year.
It was all rosy for Samsung mobile who, in 2014, led the market share with 19.9% opposed to Apple and Xiaomi’s 8.7% and 9.2% respectively. Now the tables have turned and latest IDC results show Samsung has slipped to the fourth biggest vendor in China with only a 9.7% market share in Q1 of 2015.
Apple, meanwhile, has leapfrogged the competition to claim its position as top dog with 14.7% market share – a massive 62.1% growth year-on-year.
So why has the once mighty Samsung suffered such a colossal drop in shipped handsets? The cause points towards the release of Apple’s larger-screened iPhone 6 and 6 Plus.
The trend for larger displays is big in Asia and if you ever had the chance to visit in the last few years you would see hordes of mobile users wielding their Galaxy Notes. Now that Apple is also offering big screen action consumers are deciding to jump ship, leaving Samsung to sink. Further denting Samsung’s share is the fact Apple still rules the enterprise market – by a long way. The findings by Good Technology’s Mobility Index Report reveals Apple commands a 72% share of global device activations from the education, public sector and financial services. Android holds just 26%. Anyone wanting a fun fact: the iPhone 6 the most popular handset in enterprise.
The rise of China’s own Xiaomi and Huawei, who offer handsets that rival the iPhone and Galaxy but at more affordable prices, is another factor that has hit Samsung’s sales with Chinese customer loyalty playing a influencing part.
There may be a lifeboat in the form the Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge, which both recently launched at the beginning of April this year, but it might take more than this to turn things around.
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