Two-Horse Race: Samsung and Apple Capture 55 Percent of Global Smartphone Shipments in Q1 2012
According to the latest research from Strategy Analytics, global smartphone shipments grew at a rate of 41 percent annually to reach 145 million units in the first quarter of 2012. And for the first time ever, Samsung and Apple between them captured more than half of global smartphone shipments.
Alex Spektor, Associate Director at Strategy Analytics, saiys that “Global smartphone shipments grew 41 percent annually to reach 145.3 million units in Q1 2012. Samsung overtook Apple to become the worlds 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.”
Strategy Analytics Executive Director Neil Mawston adds that “Apple shipped 35.1 million smartphones worldwide and captured a 24 percent marketshare, 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, a Director at Strategy Analytics, notes that while Nokia maintained its position as the world’s third largest smartphone player, its global market share fell from 23 percent in Q1 2011 to just 8 percent in Q1 2012 – Nokia’s lowest marketshare level in the smartphone category since 2002. The analysts note that 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.
The full report, Samsung and Apple Capture 55 Percent of Global Smartphone Shipments in Q1 2012, is published by the Strategy Analytics WSS service
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