Samsung Electronics is struggling to hold on to its crown as the world’s top-selling smartphone maker, compounding a mounting crisis at South Korea’s largest company.
The Korean tech giant was the only one of the top five global smartphone makers to experience falling shipments in the third quarter of this year, losing market share to longtime US rival Apple and Chinese contenders offering slick new foldable devices.
Samsung’s third-quarter global market share fell from 21 per cent to 18 per cent year-on-year, according to IDC, with its lead over Apple cut to 0.6 per cent. Analysts estimate that its smartphone division’s operating profit dropped by as much as 30 per cent over the same period.