Samsung takes 13% of global smartphone profits in Q1 2017, but Apple is still dominating

Samsung Electronics took home 12.9% of the global smartphone operating profit in Q1, 2017, according to industry insights firm Strategy Analytics (via The Korea Herald).

Samsung is said to have made $1.57 billion in earnings from January to March, not an insignificant sum of money, but down 9% on the same period in 2016 when it brought in 21.9% of the market profits.

However. Apple, who battles with Samsung at the top of the global smartphone leaderboard, took home $10.1 billion in the same period, and continues to dominate all other smartphone vendors in profitability. Apple’s profits accounted for 83.4 percent of the global industry, which is even more impressive when considering that its standing in huge markets like China and India isn’t particularly strong.

“Of some 300 smartphone makers, only around 10 companies are generating profits,” an industry insider recently told Yonhap News yesterday. “In terms of profitability, Apple’s domination and the market’s bipolarization between companies that make money and those struggling to turn a profit are becoming clear.”

With Samsung and Apple accounting for more than 96% of the profits over that period, that means all other smartphone vendors picked up less than 4% combined. Those manufacturers don’t have to invest as much in software as Apple — who develops its own iOS platform — as Google is responsible for the core Android operating system (which it licenses for free). But Apple manages to achieve huge margins on its hardware, despite the wealth of alternatives available, that other OEMs can’t come close to.

Samsung, ultimately, has done well to get 13% in the beginning of 2017, especially while it lacked a major flagship.