蘋果公司已經超越三星，成為全球智能手機市場龍頭，但優勢極其微弱。

科技行業研究機構高德納（Gartner）上周發布的新報告顯示，目前蘋果在整個智能手機市場中的份額為17.9%，三星為17.8%。去年第四季度，iPhone銷量達7,700萬部，而三星各款智能手機的總銷量為7,680萬部。

這算得上是蘋果的一個里程碑。此前八個季度，蘋果的智能手機市場份額一直排在三星之后，居于次席。

高德納研究主管安舒爾?古普塔在一份公告中稱：“蘋果上一次排名榜首是在2014年第四季度，當時推動銷售增長的是該公司首次推出的大屏幕手機——iPhone 6和6 Plus。”

古普塔還說，iPhone 7和iPhone 7 Plus的熱銷讓蘋果受益，另一有利因素則是北美和西歐等地的三星手機“需求下降”。

他指出，三星手機的銷售從2016年第三季度開始出現滑坡，第四季度三星停售Galaxy Note 7后跌幅逐漸變大。

由于電池可能爆炸，三星被迫讓Galaxy Note 7退出市場。移動產品研究機構Counterpoint Research今年1月的調查顯示，這次潰敗意味著三星無法在休假旺季銷售這款大力宣傳的手機，從而讓這家科技巨頭受到了巨大影響。

三星召回手機的受益者并非只有蘋果。高德納稱，2016年第四季度，華為、Oppo、步步高和金立的手機銷量均出現環比增長。這些公司的產品一般價格較低，功能也不那么豐富，針對的是三星的較低端產品。

華為給三星帶來的威脅特別大。這家中國科技巨擘目前是全球第三大智能手機廠商，擁有9.5%的份額。華為最新推出的高端手機Mate 9把一些消費者從三星那里吸引了過來。

古普塔說：“華為去年第四季度推出了Mate 9，距三星停售Galaxy Note 7不到一個月，拿出這款替代產品的時機恰到好處。”（財富中文網）

譯者：Charlie

審稿：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