Apple no longer on the top five smartphone list for Q3 in China

According to new numbers from the research firm Canalys, Apple has fallen off the top five smartphone list during Q3 within China. Chinese smartphone vendors saw shipments surge for low-priced models during the quarter according to the research firm. Apple's iPhone previously sat in fifth place on the list during Q2 and was in second place during Q1.

Samsung was able to maintain its spot on the list as China's top smartphone manufacturer holding 14% share in shipments in the country. Lenovo held second place with 13% of the Chinese market for smartphones. A newcomer to the list was a Chinese company called Yulong Computer Telecommunication Scientific at third place.

Yulong sells smartphones under a brand name known as Coolpad. The success of the smartphone brand is attributed to a broad product profile and a number of low-end handsets at prices below $100 according to Canalys. This quarter marks the first time that Yulong has made it onto the top smartphone vendor list in China. Chinese companies ZTE and Huawei were also on the list in fourth and fifth places.

The analytics company says that Yulong, ZTE, and Huawei each has roughly 10% of the Chinese smartphone market. The analytics firm says that smartphone shipments in China for Q3 reached over 50 million units with China accounting for over one third of the world's total smartphone shipments. The best-selling smartphones in the country are those that sell for between $70 and $120. The iPhone starts at $713 in China without a contract. I bet there's a huge number of black market or gray market iPhone sales that don't make it onto this list.

[via ComputerWorld]