Leading UK-based mobile analyst firm Juniper Research estimates that the number of smartphone shipments reached 342.5 million in third quarter (Q3) of 2015, with a slowed year on year growth of 8.4%.

Out of the total, Samsung sits comfortably at the top with 84 million smartphone shipments in the quarter, boosting its mobile phone unit profitability by 37% year on year.

Juniper noted that Samsung is beginning to turn its mobile unit around, while recording significant gains in its the semiconductor business, which is one of the most productive divisions for the company.

Apple

Apple posted another record-breaking quarter, with 48 million unit sales, compared to 39 million iPhones sold in Q3 2014.

Apple is increasingly turning to China for this growth – with over $12 billion in revenue coming from the Far East, and continued investment in the form of new stores and developer support.

"Whilst the appetite for Apple products is expected to remain strong in China, future expansion may be tempered somewhat by the slower economic growth expected in that market," Juniper estimates.

Chinese based Xiaomi sold an estimated 18.4 million smartphones, with the slowdown in China exacerbating the company’s troubles in the international market.

This make Huawei the best performing Chinese vendor of the quarter, shipping 27.4 million devices, up 63% on shipments for this period last year.

Meanwhile, some other popular brands like HTC, Blackberry, LG and Sony also posted significant decline in shipment and profits.

The report said HTC continued to see a decline in revenues of 49%, despite restructuring.

Sony

Despite a 32% year on year decline in shipments, Sony has announced plans to open a new smartphone factory in Thailand. This will start production in the 2016 fiscal year, putting to rest rumours that the CEO was preparing to axe the division.

A similarly sharp sales drop from Microsoft is being blamed on an ‘updated strategy’: this is a reference to the shift away from devices onto a more platform-based business model.

Microsoft's 54% revenue decline in the quarter, is matched by a 38% year on year decline in unit sales, representing 5.8 million shipments for Q3.

Meanwhile, LG posted their first ever Q3 year on year decline in smartphone sales along with a drop in profits from both declining sales and unfavourable exchange rates.

BlackBerry sales also continued to dip ahead of its Android launch, with sales estimated to have dropped below 1 million devices for the first time since 2005.

Asus’ smartphone presence is steadily growing, with an estimated 6 million units shipped this quarter.

The new Smartphone Q3 Report from Juniper Research, to be released shortly, gets under the skin of the latest market developments, analyses their implications, and forecasts how they will affect the overall market size.

Juniper Research provides research and analytical services to the global hi-tech communications sector, providing consultancy, analyst reports and industry commentary.