According to International Data Corporation, a research firm, Apple and Samsung's combined share of the international smartphone market plunged to 43% in the second quarter. The number was compared from 49% a year earlier.

Some of the corporations that were stealing the two spearheads' shares were Nokia, Sony and HTC. Analysts said that the three corporations wanted a comeback. LG, Lenovo, ZTE and Huawei were the newcomers who were also competing for buyers' attention.

''The story is no longer Apple versus Samsung,'' Bryan Wang, Forrester Research's analyst, stated. ''They will both face similar challenges.''

Analysts believed that consumers were more willing to seek for Apple or Samsung's alternatives. This was due to the fact that the smartphones' differences were less pronounced these days. Separately, none of the said corporations pose a threat to Apple and Samsung but collectively, the next three leading companies showed major growth since last year. The shares of LG increased from 3.7% last year to 5.3% this year. ZTE climbed from 3.7% to 5.0% and Huawei rose from 4.2% to 4.8%.