Eight of the world's top 12 smartphone vendors were Chinese brands, while market leader Samsung Electronics Co. and No. 2 Apple Inc. suffered a slight decline in their market shares in the first quarter of the year, industry data showed Monday.

The South Korean tech giant sold 81.5 million smartphone units around the globe in the January-March period, according to the data compiled by the industry tracker IC Insights.


Its archrival Apple sold 51.6 million units during the cited period, the data showed.

But their first-quarter market presence marks a 1 and 3 percent decline, respectively, from the previous year.

In contrast, Chinese rivals sharply expanded their market shares in the first quarter.

China-based Huawei Technologies Co. sold 28.9 million smartphones globally in the first quarter to become the No. 3 player, according to the data.

China's Oppo, Shaomi and Vivo followed suit with 16.1 million, 14.8 million, and 14.3 million units respectively, the data said.

Also, India-based smartphone supplier Mircromax joined the top 12 ranking for the first time, the data showed. (Yonhap)