Telecom Lead Asia: Samsung is leading the smartphone and mobile phone market in Q4 2012.
Samsung’s market share in smartphone business in 2012 was 30.4 percent against Apple’s 19.4 percent.
See charts (below) for additional market share details.
According to IDC, Samsung will continue to rely on Android as its primary operating system.
IDC says Huawei, which overtook LG as a Top 5 vendor in the overall mobile phone market, passed HTC to become a Top 5 smartphone vendor.
Huawei and ZTE have grown volumes by focusing on the mass market. “But in recent quarters they have turned their attention toward higher-end devices. In addition, both companies have pushed the envelope in terms of industrial design with larger displays and smaller form factors, as well as innovative applications and experiences,” said Ramon Llamas, research manager with IDC’s Mobile Phone team.
According to IDC, Huawei is the top three smartphone vendor in the world. To reach this milestone, Huawei has courted both the mass market with its simple smartphones and the high-end of the market with its Ascend-branded product line.
The company has demonstrated its innovative skills, having released the world’s thinnest (6.68 mm) smartphone last year, the Ascend P1, and this year it announced the upcoming Ascend Mate, the first smartphone with a 6.1-inch display. At the same time, Huawei has brought its own software innovations, including Magic Touch, Guiding Wizard, Smart Reading, and Floating Windows.
ZTE maintained its spot among the Top 5 smartphone vendors thanks to international diversification efforts last quarter. The vendor shipped more smartphones than feature phones for the first time.
Macroeconomic challenges in mature markets like North America and Western Europe, tighter operator upgrade policies, and shifting consumer tastes were reasons for 2 percent growth in 2012.
“Fuelled by robust demand for its popular Galaxy models, Samsung was the star performer, shipping a record 396.5 million mobile phones worldwide and capturing 25 percent market share to solidify its first-place lead,” said Neil Shah, senior analyst at Strategy Analytics.
ABI Research says it is clear that the iPhone’s hyper-growth has ended and Apple’s market share will peak in 2013 at 22 percent.
ABI Research’s mobile devices senior analyst Michael Morgan said: “Unless Apple is willing to trade iPhone margins for low cost iPhone shipments, Apple’s handset market share will become dependent on customer loyalty.”
Global smartphone shipments grew 38 percent annually from 157.0 million units in Q4 2011 to 217.0 million in Q4 2012. Global smartphone shipments for the full year reached 700.1 million units in 2012, increasing robustly from 490.5 million units in 2011. Global shipment growth slowed from 64 percent in 2011 to 43 percent in 2012 as penetration of smartphones began to mature in developed regions such as North America and Western Europe.
| Global Mobile Phone Vendor Shipments and Market Share in Q4 2012 1 | ||||||||||||||||
| Global Mobile Phone Shipments (Millions of Units) | Q4 ’11 | 2011 | Q4 ’12 | 2012 | ||||||||||||
| Samsung | 95.0 | 327.4 | 108.0 | 396.5 | ||||||||||||
| Nokia | 113.5 | 417.1 | 86.3 | 335.6 | ||||||||||||
| Apple | 37.0 | 93.0 | 47.8 | 135.8 | ||||||||||||
| ZTE | 24.4 | 78.1 | 19.5 | 71.7 | ||||||||||||
| Others | 169.7 | 630.4 | 189.3 | 635.4 | ||||||||||||
| Total | 439.6 | 1546.0 | 450.9 | 1575.0 | ||||||||||||
| Global Mobile Phone Vendor Marketshare percent | Q4 ’11 | 2011 | Q4 ’12 | 2012 | ||||||||||||
| Samsung | 21.6% | 21.2% | 24.0% | 25.2% | ||||||||||||
| Nokia | 25.8% | 27.0% | 19.1% | 21.3% | ||||||||||||
| Apple | 8.4% | 6.0% | 10.6% | 8.6% | ||||||||||||
| ZTE | 5.6% | 5.1% | 4.3% | 4.6% | ||||||||||||
| Others | 38.6% | 40.8% | 42.0% | 40.3% | ||||||||||||
| Total | 100.0% | 100.0% | 100.0% | 100.0% | ||||||||||||
| Total Growth Year-over-Year % | 9.9 % | 13.7 % | 2.6 % | 1.9 % | ||||||||||||
Global Smartphone Vendor Shipments and Market Share in Q4 2012 1
| Global Smartphone Vendor Shipments (Millions of Units) | Q4 ’11 | 2011 | Q4 ’12 | 2012 | |||||||
| Samsung | 36.5 | 97.4 | 63.0 | 213.0 | |||||||
| Apple | 37.0 | 93.0 | 47.8 | 135.8 | |||||||
| Nokia | 19.6 | 77.3 | 6.6 | 35.0 | |||||||
| Others | 63.9 | 222.8 | 99.6 | 316.3 | |||||||
| Total | 157.0 | 490.5 | 217.0 | 700.1 | |||||||
| Global Smartphone Vendor Marketshare % | Q4 ’11 | 2011 | Q4 ’12 | 2012 | |||||||
| Samsung | 23.2 % | 19.9 % | 29.0 % | 30.4 % | |||||||
| Apple | 23.6 % | 19.0 % | 22.0 % | 19.4 % | |||||||
| Nokia | 12.5 % | 15.8 % | 3.0 % | 5.0 % | |||||||
| Others | 40.7 % | 45.4 % | 45.9 % | 45.2 % | |||||||
| Total | 100.0 % | 100.0 % | 100.0 % | 100.0 % | |||||||
| Total Growth Year-over-Year % | 55.9 % | 63.8 % | 38.2 % | 42.7 % |