SEOUL - Samsung Electronics (IW 1000/14) shipped a record 88.4 million smartphones in the third quarter to take its global market share above 35%, while rival Apple's (IW 500/4) slice thinned, research data showed Tuesday.
Samsung's smartphone shipments in the July to September period marked a 55% surge over the same period last year, the independent research firm Strategy Analytics said.
The South Korean tech company's market share swelled to 35.2% from 32.9% in the third quarter of 2012.
Apple posted a 26% spike in shipments over the same period to 33.8 million units. But that failed to keep pace with the industry's overall 45% growth and the California company's market share dipped from 15.6% to 13.4%.
Strategy Analytics said it expected Apple to make up last ground in the fourth quarter on high demand for its new iPhone 5s model.
Apple reported a third consecutive quarterly decline in earnings on Monday, while Samsung last week posted a 26% increase in third-quarter net profit, bolstered by demand for smartphones and memory chips.
The largest shipment growth in the third quarter was recorded by Huawei Technologies Co., which shipped 12.7 million units -- up 67% from a year ago.
Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2013
