Samsung And Apple Hit The Jackpot In Smartphone Shipments
So who's at the top of the smartphone market share chain? Apple, Samsung or Nokia? Well let me tell you.
According to Strategy Analytics, Samsung's market share rocketed by over two and a half times from Q1 last year to over 30 percent in the last quarter. This was mainly thanks to the popularity of its Galaxy smartphones. Apple also gained market share by 6 percentage points to 24 percent over the same period.
This is the first time ever that Samsung and Apple together captured more than half of global smartphone shipments. In the first quarter last year they together accounted for just over a 30% market share. The main sufferer was Nokia, who slipped from 23.5 percent on Q1 2011 to only 8.2 percent in Q1 2012.
Total global smartphone shipments grew a substantial 41 percent annually to reach 145 million units in the first quarter of 2012.
Alex Spektor, Associate Director at marketing firm, Strategy Analytics, says, "Global smartphone shipments grew 41 percent annually to reach 145.3 million units in Q1 2012. Samsung overtook Apple to become the world's largest smartphone vendor by volume with a record 31 percent market share. Samsung's global smartphone shipments rose 253 percent annually to 44.5 million units, as demand surged for its popular Galaxy models such as the Note, S2 and Y."
Neil Mawston, Executive Director at Strategy Analytics, adds, "Apple shipped 35.1 million smartphones worldwide and captured 24 percent market share, as volumes strengthened in key countries such as China, United States and Japan. Samsung and Apple combined now account for more than half of global smartphone shipments for the first time ever. Samsung and Apple are outcompeting most of their major rivals and the smartphone market is at risk of becoming a two-horse race."
Tom Kang, Director at Strategy Analytics, notes, "Nokia maintained its position as the world's third largest smartphone player, but its global share fell from 23 percent in Q1 2011 to just 8 percent in Q1 2012. This is Nokia's lowest market share level in the smartphone category since 2002. Nokia's new Microsoft Lumia portfolio has recently gotten off to an encouraging start in the critical United States market, but shipments there are not yet large enough to offset the firm's tumbling Symbian volumes in the rest of the world."
