A report by Melanie Lee and Miyoung Kim for Reuters stated that Samsung beat Apple in China. However, another report from CNNMoney written by Philip Elmer-DeWitt claimed that the real situation in the Chinese smartphone market was actually different.

According to data released by IDC and Strategy Analytics, Apple and Samsung were both losers in China. The real winners in the Chinese smartphone market were LG, Lenovo, ZTE, Huawei, Alcatel, and other small smartphone vendors.

"Several vendors, including Alcatel and Huawei, had high double- and triple-digit growth rates in the second quarter for their Android-based offerings shipped to high-growth countries such as China and India. In 2Q13, these vendors from outside the Top 5 accounted for 44.8% of the overall shipment volume, up from 42.2% in the same quarter one year ago," stated a press release from IDC.

"The story is no longer Apple versus Samsung," Bryan Wang of Forrester told the New York Times. "Going forward, they will both face similar challenges," he added.