• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia
Tech

Samsung Smartphone Sales Plummeted Worldwide Due to Galaxy Note 7

By
Aaron Pressman
Aaron Pressman
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Aaron Pressman
Aaron Pressman
Down Arrow Button Icon
January 31, 2017, 12:04 PM ET
Consumer Product Safety Commission Announces Recall Of Samsung's New Galaxy Note 7
A Samsung's Galaxy Note 7 is held up in a plastic bag with other Note 7 phones returned to a Best Buy in Orem, Utah, Sept. 15, 2016.George Frey—Getty Images

Samsung’s Galaxy Note 7 battery debacle hurt the company’s worldwide smartphone sales during the all-important holiday shopping season, according to surveys by Counterpoint Research.

From August—just before the Note 7 was recalled due to its potentially exploding battery—through the end of December, Samsung’s global market share in premium phones sales plummeted from 35% to 17%, Counterpoint reported. Apple’s share of the category, which includes phones that cost $400 and up, jumped from 48% to 70%.

For all prices of smartphone sales, Samsung’s share sank from 20% to 15%, and Apple’s share rose from 10% to 19%.

“While Galaxy S7 series sales have been strong, they’ve not been strong enough to fill the void left by the Galaxy Note 7,” Peter Richardson, research director at Counterpoint, wrote in the market share report. “It will be a testing time for Samsung with the upcoming flagship Galaxy S8 to claw back share and then maintain it until the next version of the Note is launched.”

As some analysts had previously predicted, Apple (AAPL) benefitted from Samsung’s woes and got a strong reception for its iPhone 7 line, which has proven more popular than the 6s earlier in 2016, Counterpoint said. Other phones that took share from Samsung in some markets included the Huawei Mate 8, Google (GOOGL) Pixel, and Lenovo’s Moto Z.

“During the first eight months of 2016, Apple saw its smartphone market share remain at a record low compared to the last few years,” Counterpoint research director Jeff Fieldhack wrote. “However, the iPhone 7 series launch has been able to offset most of the previous decline.”

Get Data Sheet, Fortune’s technology newsletter.

Apple customers were also likely to pay more than in previous years as they increasingly opted for the larger screen Plus model and models with more storage capacity. That could bode well for Apple’s holiday quarter financial results, which the company will release later on Tuesday.

Chinese phone manufacturer Huawei was a “rising star” during the year as well, Counterpoint said. The company’s global share of smartphone sales hit 10% for the first time in December.

Huawei has said it aims to sell more smartphones than Apple in 2017, a goal that is now within reach, according to Counterpoint senior analyst Tina Lu.

“Performance in North America and key Asian markets will be the key,” she noted. “If it can build on its strong position in Europe, Latin America, Middle East, and Africa, then it has a chance to accomplish this milestone.”

About the Author
By Aaron Pressman
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon

Latest in Tech

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • Future 50
  • World’s Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
Sections
  • Finance
  • Leadership
  • Success
  • Tech
  • Asia
  • Europe
  • Environment
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Health
  • Retail
  • Lifestyle
  • Politics
  • Newsletters
  • Magazine
  • Features
  • Commentary
  • Mpw
  • CEO Initiative
  • Conferences
  • Personal Finance
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
About Us
  • About Us
  • Editorial Calendar
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Diversity And Inclusion
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map

Latest in Tech

Bill Gates speaks onstage at the Bloomberg Philanthropies Global Forum 2025 at The Plaza Hotel on September 24, 2025 in New York City.
AIBill Gates
Bill Gates says AI could be used as a bioterrorism weapon akin to the COVID pandemic if it falls into the wrong hands
By Eleanor PringleJanuary 9, 2026
2 hours ago
shapiro
Big TechMedia
Top media strategist on Netflix ending its war on sleep to battle against ‘an infinite number of monkeys’—or the Army of the Dead
By Nick LichtenbergJanuary 9, 2026
2 hours ago
Bill Gates pictured in New York, May 2025.
SuccessBill Gates
Read Bill Gates’s 2026 annual letter in full
By Eleanor PringleJanuary 9, 2026
2 hours ago
A screen displays the Grok logo while a person holds another phone in front.
AIX
Lawmakers and victims criticize the choice to limit Grok’s AI image generation to paid users as ‘insulting’ and ‘not effective’
By Beatrice NolanJanuary 9, 2026
4 hours ago
NewslettersTerm Sheet
Andreessen Horowitz’s shiny, new $15 billion reveals where the firm sees the biggest opportunities
By Allie GarfinkleJanuary 9, 2026
5 hours ago
Chinese and U.S. flags wave outside a technology company in Beijing, on April 17, 2025. (Photo: Pedro Pardo/AFP/Getty Images)
NewslettersFortune Tech
‘Salt Typhoon’ hackers accessed email of U.S. congressional committee staff
By Andrew NuscaJanuary 9, 2026
5 hours ago

Most Popular

placeholder alt text
Law
Amazon is cutting checks to millions of customers as part of a $2.5 billion FTC settlement. Here's who qualifies and how to get paid
By Sydney LakeJanuary 6, 2026
3 days ago
placeholder alt text
Success
Diary of a CEO founder says he hired someone with 'zero' work experience because she 'thanked the security guard by name' before the interview
By Emma BurleighJanuary 8, 2026
24 hours ago
placeholder alt text
Workplace Culture
Amazon demands proof of productivity from employees, asking for list of accomplishments
By Jake AngeloJanuary 8, 2026
22 hours ago
placeholder alt text
Future of Work
AI layoffs are looking more and more like corporate fiction that's masking a darker reality, Oxford Economics suggests
By Nick LichtenbergJanuary 7, 2026
2 days ago
placeholder alt text
Real Estate
Google billionaire Larry Page copies the Jeff Bezos playbook, buying a $173 million Miami compound that will save him millions in taxes
By Nick LichtenbergJanuary 8, 2026
20 hours ago
placeholder alt text
Crypto
Russia and Iran are increasingly turning to crypto—especially stablecoins—to avoid sanctions, report finds
By Carlos GarciaJanuary 8, 2026
1 day ago

© 2025 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.