It’s neck and neck between Apple and Samsung in the race for smartphone champ. And Apple’s got momentum on its side. The popularity of the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus helped Apple to catch up with Samsung in sales in the last quarter of 2014.The two companies have been locked in a battle for the top spot since 2011, when Samsung’s Galaxy S line of smartphones helped the South Korean group to steal the crown of the world’s biggest smartphone maker from Apple.
Samsung has been struggling to compete against Apple in the high-end phone market and against newcomers such as Xiaomi at the low end. Apple in particular has become a bigger threat with its larger screen devices. Simply wanting a bigger display is no longer a reason to buy Samsung’s devices, and its smartphones can’t reach the low prices of those from Chinese and Indian vendors.
Apple sold 192.7m iPhones in 2014, up from 153.4m the previous year in contrast with Samsung’s sales, which include mid-tier and budget models as well as flagship devices. Together Apple and Samsung dominate the global smartphone market, with a 40% share.
Overall, the mobile industry remains a two-horse race. Microsoft’s Windows Phone had 3.8 percent of the mobile OS market, down from 4.3 percent from the previous year. BlackBerry had 0.3 percent, down from 0.4 percent a year ago, and below the “other” category which had 0.6 percent.
