时隔两年，苹果再次超越三星

苹果公司已经超越三星，成为全球智能手机市场龙头，但优势极其微弱。

科技行业研究机构高德纳（Gartner）上周发布的新报告显示，目前苹果在整个智能手机市场中的份额为17.9%，三星为17.8%。去年第四季度，iPhone销量达7,700万部，而三星各款智能手机的总销量为7,680万部。

这算得上是苹果的一个里程碑。此前八个季度，苹果的智能手机市场份额一直排在三星之后，居于次席。

高德纳研究主管安舒尔•古普塔在一份公告中称：“苹果上一次排名榜首是在2014年第四季度，当时推动销售增长的是该公司首次推出的大屏幕手机——iPhone 6和6 Plus。”

古普塔还说，iPhone 7和iPhone 7 Plus的热销让苹果受益，另一有利因素则是北美和西欧等地的三星手机“需求下降”。

他指出，三星手机的销售从2016年第三季度开始出现滑坡，第四季度三星停售Galaxy Note 7后跌幅逐渐变大。

由于电池可能爆炸，三星被迫让Galaxy Note 7退出市场。移动产品研究机构Counterpoint Research今年1月的调查显示，这次溃败意味着三星无法在休假旺季销售这款大力宣传的手机，从而让这家科技巨头受到了巨大影响。

三星召回手机的受益者并非只有苹果。高德纳称，2016年第四季度，华为、Oppo、步步高和金立的手机销量均出现环比增长。这些公司的产品一般价格较低，功能也不那么丰富，针对的是三星的较低端产品。

华为给三星带来的威胁特别大。这家中国科技巨擘目前是全球第三大智能手机厂商，拥有9.5%的份额。华为最新推出的高端手机Mate 9把一些消费者从三星那里吸引了过来。

古普塔说：“华为去年第四季度推出了Mate 9，距三星停售Galaxy Note 7不到一个月，拿出这款替代产品的时机恰到好处。”（财富中文网）

译者：Charlie

审稿：夏林

The original Apple iPhone redefined the mobile phone and has helped make Apple the most valuable company in the world. It marks its tenth anniversary this year.

Apple has bested Samsung as the number one global smartphone maker, but only by a razor-thin margin.

A new Gartner report this week showed that Apple now has 17.9% of the total smartphone market compared with Samsung’s 17.8% market share. In the fourth quarter, Apple sold 77 million iPhones while Samsung sold 76.8 million of its lineup of smartphones, the report said.

It’s a bit of a milestone for Apple, which has been second to Samsung in terms of smartphones for eight consecutive quarters.

“The last time Apple was in the leading position was in the fourth quarter of 2014, when its sales were driven by its first ever large-screen iPhone 6 and 6 Plus.” said Gartner research director Anshul Gupta in a statement.

Gupta continued that Apple benefited from strong sales of its iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus models as well as a “weakened demand” for Samsung phones across several regions like North America and Western Europe.

Sales of Samsung phones started to decline in the third quarter of 2016 and only amplified when Samsung stopped selling its Galaxy Note 7 phone in the fourth quarter, Gupta said.

Samsung had to take its Galaxy Note 7 smartphone off the market because of the potential that some batteries in the devices could explode. The smartphone debacle meant that Samsung was unable to sell its high-profile Galaxy Note 7 during the holiday season, which significantly hurt the tech giant, according to a January survey by Counterpoint Research.

Apple wasn’t the only company to have benefited from the Samsung recall.

Chinese smartphone makers Huawei, Oppo, BBK, and Gionee all sold more phones in the fourth quarter than in the prior quarter, Gartner said. These companies generally sell cheaper and less feature-packed phones that compete with Samsung’s lower-end phones.

Huawei, in particular, poses a big threat to Samsung. The Chinese tech giant is currently the world’s third biggest smartphone maker in the world with a 9.5% market share, and its newest high-end phone, the Mate 9, lured some customers from Samsung.

"Huawei introduced Mate 9 during the quarter — within a month of Samsung discontinuing the Galaxy Note 7 — which was good timing to position it as an alternative," Gupta said.

Jonathan Vanian