Apple, Xiaomi jump in smartphone sales

Samsung Electronics showed a decrease in smartphone sales while other players enjoyed an increase in the first quarter of this year, data showed Monday.

According to Hong Kong’s Counterpoint Research, Samsung’s sales reached 83.3 million smartphones during the period, a 6.2 percent decrease from a year earlier.

Meanwhile, other companies increased smartphone sales compared to last year ― Apple’s sales increased by 40 percent with 61.2 million phones, while local competitor LG increased by 25.2 percent.

Chinese companies rapidly caught up, with Lenovo-Motorola increasing sales by 14.1 percent; Huawei by 27.7 percent; and Xiaomi by 39.1 percent.

Counterpoint Research stated that Samsung’s decline was mainly due to a weak performance in the Chinese market, despite performing well in India and Southeast Asia.