Apple Falls to Fourth Place in China's Smartphone Market

New data from industry research firm IDC shows that Apple Inc.’s (NASDAQ: AAPL) share of the smartphone market in China fell to 10% — or nearly cut in half — in the second quarter. Lenovo Group overtook Apple for second place in the world’s largest mobile market, as buyers waited for the next iPhone model or switched brands.

Smartphone shipments in China overtook feature phones for the first time in three months ending in June. Smartphone shipments totaled 44 million, or 51% of China’s total mobile shipments of 87 million. China is set to overtake the United States as the world’s largest smartphone market this year.

South Korea’s Samsung Electronics held on to its lead in the Chinese smartphone market with a share of 19% in the second quarter. But that was down from 21% in the previous quarter. Lenovo, the world’s number two maker of personal computers had 11% market share, climbing from seventh place in the first quarter.

With its 10% market share in the People’s Republic, Apple slipped to fourth place in the second quarter.