Samsung overtook Apple as the top smartphone vendor in the U.S. in Q3 2020

Samsung logo
Samsung logo (Image credit: Android Central)

What you need to know

  • According to Strategy Analytics, Samsung was the No.1 smartphone brand in the U.S. in the third quarter of 2020.
  • The last time Samsung held the first place in the U.S. smartphone market was in Q2 2017.
  • Samsung achieved 33.7% market share in the U.S. in Q3 2020, up 6.7% compared to the same period last year.

Last month, data from IDC revealed that Samsung regained the title of the world's largest smartphone vendor in the third quarter of the year, thanks to a 2.9% YoY growth in shipments. As per new data released by Strategy Analytics, Samsung was also successful in usurping the top spot from Apple in the U.S. smartphone market in the July-September period (via Korea Herald).

According to the market research firm, Samsung captured 33.7% of the U.S. smartphone market in the third quarter of 2020, up 6.7% compared to the same period a year earlier. Apple, in comparison, held 30.2% of the market. LG grabbed the third spot, with a market share of 14.7%. Interestingly, this is the first time since Q2 2017 that Samsung has outperformed Apple in the U.S.

Strategy Analytics claims robust sales of Samsung's budget and mid-range phones played an important role in boosting the company's presence in the U.S. Its best Android phones, of the year, including the Galaxy Note 20 and Galaxy Z Fold 2, also helped Samsung register strong growth in Q3 2020.

Unlike last year, Apple did not release its new iPhones in the third quarter this year.Industry analysts believe that this, too, played a part in Samsung overtaking Apple in the U.S. last quarter.

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Babu Mohan
News Writer