Samsung remains the runaway market leader in smartphones, according to the latest figures from analysts at Gartner.
It sold 71.4 million units in the second quarter to claim a commanding market share of 31.7 per cent, while Apple in second place could grab only less than half, with 31.9 million units sold to claim a share of 14.2 per cent.
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However, Apple can claim a much larger share of the market by value and profitability.
The rest of the market is comprised of vendors claiming shares of around five per cent or less, led by LG, maker of Google's Nexus 4 smartphone, with 11.5 million units sold to claim a 5.1 per cent market share.
Company
Q2 2013
Units
Q2 2013
Market share
Q2 2012
Units
Q2 2012
Market share
Samsung 71.381m 31.7% 45.604m 29.7% Apple 31.9m 14.2% 28.935m 18.8% LG 11.473m 5.1% 5.828m 3.8% Lenovo 10.671m 4.7% 4.371m 2.8% ZTE 9.688m 4.3% 6.331m 4.1% Others 90.214m 40% 62.704m 40.8% Total 225.326m 100% 153.773m 100%
Worldwide smartphone sales to end users by vendor, Q2 2013. Source: Gartner
The biggest surprise, perhaps, is the Chinese PC maker Lenovo, which has just entered the market, already claiming a 4.7 per cent market share on the back of 10.7 million units sold, largely in China, which accounted for 95 per cent of its sales, according to Gartner. ZTE was fifth with 9.7 million smartphones sold and a share of 4.3 per cent.
In terms of operating systems, Android now accounts for just under four-fifths of the market, while Apple's iOS claims a share of just 14.2 per cent. However, iOS apps still outsell Android apps.
Microsoft and BlackBerry also swapped places to claim third and fourth place respectively - albeit with a paltry market share of 3.3 per cent to 2.7 per cent, or 7.4 million Microsoft devices sold to 6.2 million BlackBerrys.
Given BlackBerry's decision this week to "explore its strategic options" - widely interpreted as a code for putting itself up for sale - it is likely that sales of the new Z10 and Q10 devices from BlackBerry probably have not accelerated since launch, and that it won't be re-taking third place from Microsoft by the end of the year.
Anshul Gupta, principal research analyst at Gartner, pointed out that growth in the smartphone market has now shifted to emerging markets in Asia/Pacific, Latin America and Eastern Europe, where growth rates weighed in at 74.1 per cent, 55.7 per cent and 31.6 per cent respectively.
"We see demand in the premium smartphone market come mainly from the lower end of this segment in the $400-and-below ASP [average selling price] mark," said Gupta. As a result, Samsung is coming under pressure in this area from a number of competitors, he said.
Nokia, meanwhile, which was once the market-leader in smartphones and the runaway leader in mobile technology, is struggling against rivalry from Android.
"With the recent announcement of the Lumia 1020, Nokia has built a wide portfolio of devices at multiple price points, which should boost Lumia sales in the second half of 2013," said Gupta. "However, Nokia is facing tough competition from Android devices, especially from regional and Chinese manufacturers which are more aggressive in terms of price points."
Apple, though, is arguably facing the stiffest challenges. Its ASPs are declining due to competition, and the likely launch this autumn of a "budget" iPhone will probably reduce its ASPs still further, warned Gupta, with the risk that the new phone will cannibalise sales rather than boost them.
Company
Q2 2013
Units
2Q 2013
Market share
2Q 2012
Units
Q2 2012
Market share
Samsung 107.526m 24.7% 90.432m 21.5% Nokia 60.954m 14% 83.42m 19.9% Apple 31.9m 7.3% 28.935m 6.9%
LG
17.016m 3.9% 14.345m 3.4% ZTE 15.281m 3.5% 17.198m 4.1% Huawei 11.275m 2.6% 10.894m 2.6% Lenovo 10.955m 2.5% 6.822m 1.6% TCL 10.134m 2.3% 9.356m 2.2% Sony 9.505m 2.2% 7.347m 1.7% Yulong 7.912m 1.8% 4.016m 1% Others 152.702m 35.1% 147.355m 35.1% Total 435.158m 100% 420.12m 100%
Total worldwide mobile phone sales to end users by vendor, Q2 2013. Source: Gartner
Lenovo, meanwhile, will find it more difficult to grow at the same pace overseas than it has in China as it lacks the sales, services and distribution channels to support such an expansion, according to Gupta.
Overall, Nokia claimed second place for sales of all mobile phones - feature phones as well as smartphones - with companies like China's TCL, Huawei and Yulong also in the top-ten due to feature phone sales. Google-owned Motorola, though, was conspicuous by its absence.
The total worldwide sales, though, reveal that growth across the mobile phone market is just 3.5 per cent, year-on-year, with a major shift from feature phones to smartphones.
