Samsung Electronics Co. maintained its leading position in the smartphone market of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region in the third quarter of the year, a report showed Tuesday.

Samsung accounted for 45 percent of the GCC smartphone market in the July-September period in terms of units, up from 40 percent a quarter earlier, according to industry researcher International Data Corp. (IDC).

"With its large portfolio of models in the entry-level and mid-range price bands, Samsung not only maintained its leading position but also captured share lost by Huawei," Akash Balachandran, a senior research analyst at IDC, said.

Apple Inc. was the runner-up with a unit share of 15 percent, down from 18 percent a quarter earlier, due to the delayed launch of its iPhone 12 series.

Chinese brands Huawei Technologies Co. and Xiaomi Corp. were third and fourth, respectively, with market shares of 13 percent and 12 percent in the GCC market.

In terms of value, Apple was the leader with a 46.3 percent share, followed by Samsung with 30.8 percent

The GCC smartphone market declined 0.9 percent quarter-on-quarter to 4.16 million units, according to IDC. In terms of value, the market fell 11.6 percent quarter-on-quarter to $1.16 billion.

Saudi Arabia accounted for 52.6 percent of smartphone shipments in the GCC region in the third quarter, followed by the United Arab Emirates with 24.1 percent.

IDC expected the GCC smartphone market to grow 6.5 percent in the fourth quarter from the third quarter.

"Brands like Apple and Samsung will also post a strong performance in the upcoming quarters with newly released models in their portfolios," Ramazan Yavuz, a senior research manager at IDC, said. "Chinese vendors, focused on driving penetration in the region, will continue their marketing investments, all of which will translate into a well-performing market in the short to mid-term." (Yonhap)