Samsung Electronics Co. stood as the leading smartphone maker in terms of shipments in the second quarter of 2017, data showed Wednesday, with Chinese firms narrowing the gap with the traditional leaders.

According to the data compiled by Strategy Analytics, the South Korean giant accounted for 22.1 percent of the global market in the April-June period, down 0.6 percentage point from a year earlier. This translates into 79.5 million units made by Samsung.

The industry tracker said Samsung was able to keep the lead on the back of high demand for the Galaxy S8 series. The flagship was launched months after the company was forced to suspended production of the Galaxy Note 7 last year due to faulty batteries.

Samsung's archrival Apple Inc. accounted for 11.4 percent of the market in the second quarter, down 0.4 percentage point on-year. Its shipment of smartphones was estimated at 41 million units.

Industry watchers said the decreased presence of Apple came as the demand for iPhones fell in China as more consumers sought local brands.

Huawei Technologies Co. took up 10.7 percent of the market to become No. 3 player, rising sharply from 9.4 percent posted last year. Huawei's presence only marks a 0.7-percentage-point gap with Apple.

Other Chinese firms also gathered ground, with OPPO Electronics Corp. taking up 8.2 percent of the global market in the second quarter, compared to 5.3 percent posted a year earlier.

Xiaomi Inc. followed with 6.4 percent, also boasting sharp growth from 4.3 percent posted last year, apparently helped by rising demand in India, the industry tracker added.

"We expect the rumored Galaxy Note 8 upgrade with a bigger screen to further strengthen Samsung in the coming weeks," Strategy Analytics said. (Yonhap)