Michael Kan for Computerworld:

Apple dropped out of the top five list in China’s smartphone market for the third quarter, as local handset vendors saw their shipments surge from the sales of low-priced smartphone models, according to research firm Canalys.

Samsung and Lenovo are ranked first and second, respectively, while Chinese handset maker Yulong, makers of Coolpad smartphones, slid into third place. ZTE and Huawei, both Chinese firms, rounded out the top five. The research firm responsible for the study says the five manufacturers produce low-cost smartphones that are more appealing to Chinese consumers.

The news isn’t all bad for Apple, though – the company’s Chinese shipments grew year over year, and the iPhone 5 hasn’t yet been released there.