November 23, 2024

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[THE INVESTOR] Samsung Electronics narrowed the gap with US tech giant Apple in terms of smartphone sales in the third quarter, data showed on Nov. 28.

According to the data compiled by Strategy Analytics, Apple accounted for 32 percent of the industry’s combined revenue in the July-September period, compared with Samsung‘s share of 23.1 percent. The 8.9 percentage-point gap marks a drop from 15.5 percentage points posted in the third quarter of 2015.

In terms of operating profits, Apple took up 69.9 percent of the market, while Samsung accounted for 21.8 percent. The gap also dropped from 66.9 percentage points to 48.1 percentage points over the cited period.

Industry watchers said the data is significant as Apple normally enjoys higher profits in the third and fourth quarters when its new iPhones hit shelves.

In terms of shipment volume, Samsung accounted for 21.2 percent of the market in the July-September, followed by Apple with 11.4 percent.

By Alex Lee and newswires (alexlee@heraldcorp.com)