Samsung continued to lead the worldwide smartphone market in Q2 2017: Canalys

Samsung continued to lead the worldwide smartphone market in Q2 2017 with shipments of over 79 million units, leaving growth relatively flat, according to the report by research company Canalys.

While, Apple held on to second place by shipping 41 million iPhones, increasing its annual shipments volume by 2 percent, despite anticipation building for a significant product refresh later in the year.

The report also said that over 340 million smartphones shipped in Q2 2017, an increase of almost 4 percent year on year.

Chinese smartphone company Huawei has managed to get the third spot. Oppo and Xiaomi were the top performers in a fourth and fifth spot, growing shipments 44 percent and 52 percent respectively, Canalys pointed out that.

"The smartphone market continued to grow in Q2, despite India and China both slipping into decline," said Canalys Research Analyst Vincent Thielke.

"Smartphone shipments to North America increased around 7 percent year on year, with Apple growing 10 percent. Apple outperformed Samsung despite the launch of the Galaxy S8 and growing anticipation for the next iPhone.

Shipments of the S8 have been strong in some regions, but there are signs that demand has been overestimated," said Canalys Senior Analyst Tim Coulling.

Coulling said, "Canalys' channels research has revealed inventory buildup in Europe, which when combined with discounting in the US, indicates Samsung may be testing the limits of Android smartphone pricing. As Apple looks to refresh the iPhone, even with its unique user experience, it too must justify any significant price increases with tangible improvements to both feature set and design."