Apple and Samsung lose traction in Q1

Market research firm Strategy Analytics says the combined global market share of the two companies slipped from 50% in Q1 2013 to 47% in Q1 2014. Samsung shipped 89million smartphones in the first quarter of this year and captured 31% marketshare, dipping slightly from 32% a year earlier. This represents the firm's first annual market share loss in the smartphone category since Q4 2009. Apple, meanwhile, grew a below average 17% annually and shipped 43.7million iPhones worldwide for 15% market share in Q1, falling from the 17% level recorded during the same period last year. While Apple remains strong in the premium smartphone segment, a lack of presence in the entry level category continues to cost it lost volumes in fast growing emerging markets such as Latin America. Linda Sui, senior analyst at Strategy Analytics, said: "There is more competition than ever coming from the second tier smartphone brands. Huawei remained steady with 5% global smartphone market share, while Lenovo has increased its global presence from 4 to 5% during the past year. "Huawei is expanding swiftly in Europe, while Lenovo continues to grow aggressively outside China into new regions such as Russia. If the recent Lenovo takeover of Motorola gets approved by various governments in the coming months, this will eventually create an even larger competitive force that Samsung and Apple must contend with in the second half of this year."