As Apple thrives, Samsung falls in China

Samsung's struggle continues in China. Photo: Killian Bell/Cult of Android

Samsung’s struggle continues in China. Photo: Killian Bell/Cult of Android

As the iPhone becomes increasingly popular in China, its Galaxy-branded rivals are falling. According to the latest data from Strategy Analytics, Samsung dropped out of the top five smartphone makers in China last year, with Apple the only non-Chinese company to make the list.

Huawei topped the list for 2015 with a 15.2 percent share of the market, while Xiaomi — which has made a name for itself by taking inspiration from Apple’s most popular products — took the second spot with a 14.8 percent share.

Apple managed to claim third place with a 13.1 percent share of the market, Vivo placed fourth with 10 percent, and Oppo made up the top five with a 9.2 percent share.

Until as recently as 2014, Samsung reigned in China, where larger devices like the Galaxy Note series prove incredibly popular. It actually managed to rank fifth during the third quarter of 2015, but the company was then overtaken by Oppo.

In recent years, Samsung has been losing out to local manufacturers who deliver more affordable smartphones with better specifications. Those Chinese manufacturers now hold a 46 percent share of the smartphone market between them, according to Strategy Analytics.

It’s unclear exactly how much share Samsung has left because Strategy Analytics only reveals the top five vendors.