Pre-orders for Samsung's latest flagship smartphone began shortly after its launch on March 29, but it seems that Samsung's smartphone was doing well on its own, even before the Galaxy S8 was announced.
A recent study conducted by market research firm TrendForce sheds light on the evolution of the smartphone market in the first quarter of this year. Samsung recorded strong sales with its mid-ranger Galaxy J, which makes Samsung the only company to record an increase in production volume in the first quarter and grabs 26.1% of the market share, thus surpassing Apple.
However, sales of Samsung's high-end models were lower than expected in the first quarter, as consumer confidence in the smartphone brand has not fully recovered after the Galaxy Note 7. The study shows that the Galaxy J recorded the largest shipments and helped Samsung surpass even Apple's iPhone, which grabbed 20.3% of the market in Q4 2016, but fell to 16.9% in Q1.
TrendForce estimates that the production volume of all iPhone in the second quarter will reach about 43 million units, down 17% compared to the previous quarter. But this should not be a concern, since Apple is preparing to launch the iPhone 8, iPhone 7s and iPhone 7s Plus in the third quarter.
