Samsung retained its world's top smartphone seller position in 2016

The latest data shared by industry tracker Strategy Analytics shows that Samsung retained its position as the world's top smartphone seller last year. It led the pack in 2016 followed by Apple in second place and China's Huawei coming in third. Samsung is said to have sold 308.5 million smartphones last year. Samsung's smartphone division posted an operating profit of $8.3 billion last year which accounted for 14.6 percent of global profits.

Apple's iPhone sales remained competitive as well since the industry tracker found that the company sold 215.5 million units of its smartphones. Huawei's sales were split between its Honor and Ascend series which are said to be 72.2 million and 65.7 million units respectively.

Even though Samsung is coming under increasing pressure from Chinese manufacturers in the entry-level and mid-range segments of the market, it's the flagship sector that's aiding the company in continuing its dominance. Analysts believe that Chinese smartphone manufacturers will have to significantly improve their premium smartphone lineups if they really want to catch up with Samsung and Apple in the global smartphone market.

Adnan Farooqui - Executive Editor

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First Samsung device: SGH-E900

Adnan Farooqui is a long-term writer at SamMobile. Based in Pakistan, his interests include technology, finance, Swiss watches and Formula 1. His tendency to write long posts betrays his inclination to being a man of few words.

Via Phone China