In 2013, Samsung Electronics claimed 31% of the global market for smartphones and Apple Inc. garnered 15%. However, analysts at Fitch Ratings predict those totals are on track to fall to 25% for Samsung and 14% for Apple by 2015.
The decline will be largely due to rising competition in emerging markets, where lower-priced devices from local manufacturers should continue to gain a market share at the expense of the two global rivals.
Experts at Fitch think that in these markets a cost is more important than a world-known brand or a cutting-edge technology. So, devices by local manufactures retailing at $100-300 can offer most of the key features just like more expensive phones from Samsung and Apple.
The rating agency expects the overall smartphone shipment volume of these hi-tech giants to stagnate at around 450-460 million units in 2014 as compared to 467 million gadgets delivered in 2013. However, the global smartphone market would rise by around 20% to 1.2 billion.
