Samsung has experienced the worst year-on-year market share and sales drop in its history

Samsung, the world’s biggest smartphone manufacturer, is probably not very happy with its performance in the third quarter of the year. Even so, according to Gartner’s latest report, the South Korean tech giant remains number one in terms of sales, as it managed to ship 71.7 million smartphones to consumers in Q3.

However, the company has experienced the biggest year-on-year market share drop in its history – from 23.6% to 19.2%. Meanwhile, its sales have decreased by 14.2 percent when compared with the third quarter of 2015, which, again, represents the biggest drop in the company’s history.

The Note 7 fiasco is one of the reasons for Samsung’s bad quarter. But that’s not the whole story. As consumers are getting more price-conscious when looking for a new smartphone, they are increasingly turning to Chinese manufacturers for a better deal.

Looking at the sales and market share data, we can see that the China-based Huawei, Oppo, and BBK Communication Equipment have all increased their presence worldwide.

Together, these three companies accounted for 21 percent of global smartphone sales in Q3 and were the only ones in the top five ranking to increase their sales numbers as well as market shares.

Apple, on the other hand, has lost some market traction as its sales decreased by around three million units. And just like Samsung, the company also experienced a market share drop — from 13 percent (Q3 2015) to 11.5 percent (Q3 2016).

So, what do you guys think? Will Samsung be able to turn things around in the next quarter or will its sales continue to decline?