Global smartphone shipments climb nearly 8% in 1st quarter as Samsung retakes the lead

Global smartphone shipments rose nearly 8% in the first quarter, according to preliminary data from International Data Corp. It’s the third straight quarter of shipment growth and marks the return of Samsung to the No. 1 spot. There were 289.4 million units shipped in the period, according to IDC’s Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker. The former top seller, Apple, saw smartphone shipments drop 9.6% year over year, putting it in second place.