[THE INVESTOR] LG Electronics has emerged as a serious competitor in the all-important US smartphone market where Samsung Electronics and Apple are still dominant players.

According to the latest sales data from Kantar Worldpanel, Samsung and Apple are still the most favored smartphone brands in the US, having captured capturing 37 percent and 29 percent of total sales, respectively, in the three-month period ending in May. 


During the same period, LG’s market share soared to 15 percent, contributing to Android’s total share, which increased by 3.6 percentage points to 68.5 percent in the US. 

"The US is a key market for our premim strategy," said an LG spokesperson in Seoul. He declined to break down the sales figures, especially for the company's latest flagship G5 that was launched in April.

Huawei, which hopes to become the second-largest smartphone manufacturer in the world, made up less than 1 percent of sales in the US.

By Lee Ji-yoon (jylee@heraldcorp.com)