Canalys: China Bought 82 Million Smartphones in Q1, Apple Back Up to 5th Spot

When we looked at Canalys smartphone data for Q4 2012, we noted that Apple had sunk to sixth spot in China for that quarter as domestic gadget makers soared. But in the newest stats for Q1 2013, Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) has regained some of its mojo to get back up to fifth spot in the country. In total, 82 million smartphones were shipped in Q1 in China.

Here are the newest rankings and China market share (where available) data from Canalys:

• 1st: Samsung, with 20 percent market share
• 2nd: Coolpad
• 3rd: Huawei
• 4th: Lenovo
• 5th: Apple, with eight percent market share

Samsung (005930:KS) and Apple are the only non-domestic brands in the top ten, continuing a trend that’s been going on for a couple of years. Canalys notes that 68 percent of all shipments within China are from domestic brands. Lenovo (HKG:0992) is aiming to outsell Samsung within China in the near future.

(See: How the Very Uncool ‘CoolPad’ is Outselling Apple’s iPhone in China)

In contrast to the 82 million smartphones shipped in China (yes, Canalys focuses on units shipped, which admitedly doesn’t correlate with devices bought; many might be still sitting on shelves or in warehouses), the US market saw 27 million smartphones shifted.

For a rough idea of actual units sold, it’s worth noting that Samsung sold 30 million of its phones in China in 2012.

(Source: Macworld/IDG News)