Samsung remains #1 in China smartphone market, Apple falls to #6

Last week, we announced that the iPhone 5 is finally making its way into the smartphone market in China, but while Apple may be dominating in the US, the company's status isn't the same over in China. Apple fell to the sixth spot in smartphone market share in China, being overtaken by Huawei. Samsung still remains at the top with Lenovo in the #2 spot.

During Apple's third quarter this year, the company saw its market share fall two spots compared to where they were at during the second quarter, and according to research firm International Data Corporation (IDC), Apple's market share by shipments was under 10% during the third quarter, when China's own smartphone shipments hit a record high at more than 60 million shipments.

However, the iPhone 5 will launch in China on December 14. It's expected that Apple's market share will rebound at that time, but it's anyone guess if the company can make their way back into the top five in market share. The drop to #6 comes close after Apple's shares fell more than 6%, making it the biggest single-day loss in four years for the company.

While Samsung and Lenovo claim the top two spots in smartphone market share in China, Coolpad has the third spot and ZTE fell to the fourth spot. China has more than one billion mobile phone subscribers, so the market for smartphones is booming in the country. We'll see how well the iPhone 5 sells and if Apple can boost up its market share in China.

[via Reuters]