Samsung Electronics Co. beat its archrival US Apple Inc. in smartphone shipments in the North American market for the second quarter, industry data showed Thursday, returning as the No. 1 player.

According to the data compiled by industry tracker Strategy Analytics, the South Korean giant took up 33.3 percent of the North American smartphone market over the cited period by shipping 14 million units.

Apple, on the other hand, sold 10.1 million units, which translates into a 24 percent market share from April through June, down 8.7 percentage points on-quarter.

Industry watchers said the decrease apparently came as Samsung penetrated deeper into the market with the new Galaxy S8 smartphones, while Apple sales were sluggish as customers held off buying new handsets till the release of the new flagship model later in the second half.

It marks the first time that Samsung has risen to become the No. 1 player in the region since the second quarter of 2016. The South Korean tech giant also posted a market share beyond 30 percent for the first time since the April-June period of 2014.

LG Electronics Inc., Samsung's smaller home rival, posted a market share of 17.1 percent in North America to become the third-largest smartphone maker. Accordingly, the combined share of South Korean firms came to 50.4 percent.

Industry watchers said the competition in the North American market will further escalate over the second half as Apple plans to showcase its latest flagship, while Samsung and LG are also moving to unveil new premium smartphones. (Yonhap)