Skip to main content

Samsung obliterates its rivals, sells more phones than Apple, Nokia, and LG put together

samsung galaxy note 3 rear case
Image used with permission by copyright holder

We know Samsung sells plenty of phones and commands a serious amount of market share. However, the latest research from Strategy Analytics shows the just how much it’s obliterating the competition. Between July and September this year, Samsung sold 120 million phones around the world, enough to make it the clear leader, but cementing its colossal advantage is the fact it’s more than Nokia, Apple, and LG combined.

These three trail Samsung in the charts, selling 64 million, 33 million, and 18 million respectively, giving a total of 115 million phones sold. Huawei takes fifth position with 14 million phones sold globally. Add Huawei’s sales and you get more than Samsung’s total, but only just. It’s an amazing performance.

Recommended Videos

Samsung’s incredible tally gives it a 28 percent share of the global phone market, according to Strategy Analytics, up from 26 percent this time last year. Nokia trails with 15 percent, which is down from 21 percent last year. In third place it’s Apple, up from 7 percent in 2012 to 8 percent today. LG has also made some gains, thanks to its decision to include Europe when it launches new hardware, and has risen to just over 4 percent global market share. Huawei has made modest gains, but still ranks fifth with a 3 percent share.

Nowhere to be seen, and therefore dumped into the Others category are HTC, Sony, ZTE, BlackBerry, and the many manufacturers concentrating their efforts on China, such as Lenovo and Xiaomi. The report says Alcatel and Coolpad are the fastest growing names in Asia and parts of Western Europe, although neither have made any impact in the U.S. yet.

In total, 417 million mobile phones – that’s smartphones and feature phones together – were sold between July and September this year, a 7 percent increase over the 390 million sold last year, and the highest increase since 2011.

Topics
Andy Boxall
Andy is a Senior Writer at Digital Trends, where he concentrates on mobile technology, a subject he has written about for…
A cheap Samsung phone crushed its biggest rival in this camera test
The Samsung Galaxy A35 and Galaxy A55's cameras.

The Samsung Galaxy A55 and Galaxy A35 are close enough in style, software, and price that you may be questioning which model is the right one to buy; we certainly did in our reviews.

We eventually settled on the cheaper Galaxy A35 being a great purchase as it had some interesting and unexpected advantages over the more expensive Galaxy A55, despite slightly slower performance. But what happens when the camera is most important to you? We decided to find out.
Galaxy camera spec comparison
The Samsung Galaxy A35 (left) and Galaxy A55 Andy Boxall / Digital Trends

Read more
Foldable phone deals: Samsung, Motorola, Google, and more, from $500
Motorola Razr Plus and Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 in hand with cover display turned on.

Now's a great time to buy a foldable phone because of the discounts that are available through phone deals from Motorola and Best Buy. If you've been following the recent resurgence of stylish and functional folding phones from brands like Motorola, Samsung, Google, and OnePlus, don't miss this chance at huge savings. If any of the bargains below catch your eye, it's highly recommended that you proceed with the purchase right away, because for some of these offers, tomorrow may already be too late.
Motorola Razr 2023 (128GB) -- $500, was $700

The Motorola Razr 2023 is the most affordable option in this list, but it offers everything that you would expect from a foldable phone. It's lightweight and compact when folded, with notifications and other essential information displayed on its 1.5-inch OLED cover screen, but it features a 6.9-inch Full HD+ pOLED inner display with a 144Hz refresh rate. The Motorola Razr 2023 is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 7 Gen 1 processor and 8GB of RAM, and it has a a 64MP main camera and a 13MP wide-angle camera at the back.

Read more
Samsung’s next folding phone could be cheaper than we thought
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5, Galaxy Z Fold 4, and Galaxy Z Flip 5 resting on a table.

the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 (from left) Galaxy Z Fold 5, and Galaxy Z Flip 5 Andy Boxall / Digital Trends

It increasingly seems likely that Samsung’s foldable phone strategy is aiming for a lower price bracket. Right now, a taste of Galaxy foldables will cost you a minimum of $1,000. However, an upcoming entry-level foldable phone might bring that barrier down to just $800.

Read more