Android has taken the lead in the growing Chinese smartphone market after gaining 2.8 percent of the market over the fourth quarter of 2012, giving them 51.4 percent of the entire amount of smartphones owned in China according to Kantar Worldpanel ComTech.
This is due in large part to the success of Samsung's Galaxy S4, which has been able to rival Apple's iPhone since its release. In less than one month, the Galaxy S4 has sold over 10 million units globally.
This makes it the fastest growing Android vendor with a 15.2 percent share among Chinese smartphone owners. More growth can be expected for Samsung, especially with the announcement of the Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini, Samsung's latest version of the Galaxy series that offers a smaller 4.3-inch screen, lower processor and lower 8 megapixel camera.
However, despite the mini's downgrades from the regular Galaxy S4, Craig Yu, concumer insight director at Kantar Worldpanel ComTech said that the phone is likely to increase the company's product reach in urban China.
The second-highest ownership numbers went to Nokia's Symbian with a market share of 23 percent last quarter. However, that number was down two percent. They're expected to drop to third behind Apple in the next quarter, making the bidding war for Chinese smartphone users between Apple and Samsung.
Smartphones are a growing market in China as the country begins to need them in greater and greater demand. Last quarter, ownership of smartphones reached 42 percent in China. That number is up 1.2 percent from the previous quarter. A lot of these higher numbers come from people who owned feature phones and then upgraded to a smartphone. CNET reports that almost half of all featured phone owners who changed their devices last quarter decided to upgrade themselves to a smartphone.
"Feature phones are losing their price advantage as Android smartphones are rapidly becoming more affordable and delivering better value," Yu said. "we expect to see accelerated smartphone adoption in China in the coming months."
