Samsung and Apple unsurprisingly remained the top smartphone vendors worldwide, taking a combined market share of 52% in the fourth quarter of 2012, according to a data from Research firm Gartner. Samsung sold 64.5 million units of the Galaxy S 3 and other models (up 85.3 percent from last year) while the release of the 4-inch iPhone 5 help Apple sell 43.5 million units (up 22.6 percent). Chinese device-maker Huawei for the first time took the number three position, selling 27.2 million smartphones (up 73.8%), overtaking Nokia. The better-than-expected results for its Lumia Windows phones did not stop Nokia from losing further market share.
What Else You Need To Know
- For overall mobile phone sales (including feature phones), Samsung was number one for the year with 384.6 million units (22.0 percent market share), followed by Nokia with 333.9 million units (19.1 percent market share), with Apple a distant third at 130.1 million units (7.5 percent). Apple doesn't sell any feature phones.
- Although still outselling smartphones, basic phones sales continue to see a substantial decline, dropping 19.3 percent to 264.4 million units in the fourth quarter while smartphone sales hiked 38.3 percent to 207.7 million.
- As for the operating systems, Android (69.7 percent market share) widened its gap over iOS (20.9 percent), while BlackBerry (3.5 percent) saw a 44% decline but stayed in third, with Microsoft (3.0 percent) catching up amid a 124.2 percent increase in smartphone sales.
- The Samsung Galaxy name has nearly become a synonym for Android brand as Samsung has commanded 42.5 percent of the Android market, with the next vendor taking just 6 percent of the market share.
Other sources
The Finnish firm recorded its lowest ever share of the global mobile market — smartphones and feature phones — weighing in with just 18 percent in the fourth quarter, down from 23.4 percent a year prior.- Jon Russell, The Next Web
[Huawei] boosted its total yearly smartphone sales with more than 73% in 2012, reaching the 27.2 million mark. Not too shabby for a manufacturer that’s still mostly regarded as an outsider in the Western world, don’t you think?- Adrian Diaconescu, Android Authority
- Mobile Crunch
- Gartner: Huawei Takes 3rd Place In Global Smartphone Rankings In Q4 2012; Top Two Samsung & Apple Dominate With 52% Share
- Other
- Gartner smartphone report: battle rages for third place behind Apple and Samsung
- The Next Web
- Gartner: 52% of Q4 smartphone sales were Apple or Samsung; Nokia sunk to lowest overall handset share
- Engadget
- Gartner: half of smartphones sold are Apple or Samsung, Huawei third for the first time
- Other
- Gartner: Huawei secures third spot in 2012 global smartphone sales, Samsung remains king
- Phone Arena
- Gartner: 52% of all smartphones sold in Q4 were branded Apple or Samsung
- Mobile Burn
- As Apple and Samsung dominate smartphone sales, a surprising company grabs third place