Samsung Passes Apple Phone Sales
A first for Samsung but bets are in it won’t last long. Apple’s iPhone sales dropped in the 3rd Qtr while Samsung’s numbers jumped. Most are chalking it up to the late release of the iPhone4s while others blame the numbers on the newest version iPhone from Apple, which really doesn’t offer what we’ve come to expect from Apple.
Apple sold 17.1 million iPhones in the third quarter, 3 million fewer than expected. Samsung, meanwhile, shipped more than 27 million, according to analyst estimates.
So what happened? For one, Apple’s latest iPhone, the 4S, didn’t come out until the quarter ended, so its sales are not included in the figure. People held back on buying older models in anticipation of the new iPhone, which came out Oct. 14. Apple said it sold more than 4 million units in its first weekend on sale, and that should be reflected in the tally for the current, holiday quarter.
“People were waiting,” said Francis Sideco, analyst with the research firm IHS. “We don’t see this as a signal that Apple is all of a sudden losing its edge. It’s their normal thing. But while they are doing this normal thing, Samsung is (going strong) and they happen to have a really good quarter.”
Samsung’s quarter was helped by strong sales of its Galaxy phones, though Sideco said the numbers shouldn’t lead to the conclusion that the Samsung Galaxy beat the Apple iPhone.
“What beat it is Samsung’s lines,” Sideco said.
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