IDC: Apple snags global smartphone marketshare from Samsung in June quarter

Samsung's share slipped from 24.8 percent to 21.7 percent, or about 73.2 million units, IDC said. Lenovo fell from 5.2 percent to 4.8 percent, although unlike Samsung, it still shipped a greater number of phones year-to-year. Samsung's units were down from 74.9 million in Q2 2014.

The Korean company may also have been impacted by surging sales at Huawei, which leapt from a 6.7 percent share to 8.9, and Xiaomi, which advanced from 4.6 percent to 5.3. Of the three, only Samsung has a significant presence in the North American market, but IDC credited Huawei's growth with strong sales in Europe and its home country of China. Xiaomi is only beginning to step outside of India and Southeast Asia.

Apple's success was linked to a dominant position in the Chinese market, where it's said to be profiting from an expansion of 4G networks and its decision to switch to larger screens for the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus. Many Chinese use a smartphone as their primary computing device, and rival Android phones — often less expensive — have had larger displays for years.

The drop in Samsung numbers was blamed on its botched launch of the Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge. The company misjudged the balance of demand, leaving it with too few Edge models and a surplus of regular ones. IDC noted however that older Galaxy phones continued to sell, mostly because of discounts and promotions.