Smartphones continue to take over the world. According to the latest research issued by Strategy Analytics, six out of 10 mobile phones shipped worldwide in Q3 2013 were smartphones.
Global smartphone shipments also crossed 250 million units for the first time ever in a single quarter, up by 45 percent from 172.8 million units in Q3 2012 to 251.4 million in Q3 2013, the research firm notes in a blog post (hat/tip TechCrunch).
Strategy Analytics explains that the smartphone industry is growing rapidly due to “strong demand for LTE models in developed regions like the US and 3G devices in emerging markets such as China.”
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Samsung came out tops among smartphone brands in the third quarter. The Korean company shipped a record 88.4 million smartphones worldwide — accounting for a record 35 percent market share in Q3 2013 — as demand for the Note 3 phablet and mass-market devices such as the Galaxy Y helped to temper softening demand for the Galaxy S4.
Comparatively, Apple only shipped 33.8 million iPhones worldwide in the third quarter, though still an increase from 26.9 million a year ago — and its market share has declined from 16 percent to 13 percent during the past year. However, Strategy Analytics is pinning hopes on the new iPhone 5s to buoy demand for Apple products. “Nonetheless, we expect Apple to rebound sharply and regain share in the upcoming fourth quarter of 2013 due to high demand for its new iPhone 5s model,” the research firm notes.
Chinese smartphone manufacturer Huawei took third position after capturing a 5 percent market share with 12.7 million units shipped during the quarter. Strategy Analytics notes that the company is very strong in its home market of China, but it needs to “expand aggressively” in the American and European markets if it wants to be a serious competitor to Samsung and Apple.
In the meantime, fourth-placed Korean company LG grew the fastest among the top five smartphone brands, climbing 71 percent year-over-year to ship 12 million smartphones worldwide for a market share of 5 percent in Q3 2013.
Headline image via Nicolas Asfouri/AFP/Getty Images, charts via Strategy Analytics
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