WASHINGTON: Samsung and Apple maintained their leadership in the smartphone market in early 2017 while Chinese-based Huawei’s strong growth cemented its number three position, a market tracker said Thursday.

Research firm IDC said overall smartphone shipments grew 4.3 per cent in the first quarter, slightly better than its prior forecast, to 347 million units.

“The first quarter smartphone results further prove that the smartphone industry is not dead and that growth still exists,” said IDC analyst Ryan Reith.

“There is no question that 2016 was a pivotal year for the industry as growth dipped to low single digits for the first time. However, we believe the industry will show some rebound in 2017, and the strong first quarter results certainly support this argument.”

Reith said the 2017 market will feel the impact of the new Samsung Galaxy S8 flagship handset, and a widely expected announcement from Apple for its new iPhone later this year.

According to the survey, Samsung led the market in the first quarter with a 22.8pc share to 14.9pc for Apple, with little growth for the top two vendors.

Published in Dawn, April 28th, 2017