Shipments
The smartphone industry is increasingly becoming more interesting with some major product launches expected in the next few months. According to IDC, in 1Q2013 smartphone shipments have overtaken feature phones. There was a 4% y/y growth in phone shipments, which were 418.6 million for the quarter. In the fourth quarter of 2012 a total of 483.2 million shipments had been made, denoting a 14% q/q decline. The global economic stagnation and factors related to product life cycle led this q/q decline.
Market Share
Smartphones continued their dominance over features phone and accounted for approximately 51.6% of total phone shipments. The growth in this space was phenomenal at 41.6% q/q. The biggest beneficiaries of this growth have been Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG), Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) and Samsung (NASDAQOTH:SSNLF). Samsung retained its top spot during the quarter with a total 32.7% market share. Apple closely follows behind with a market share of 17.3%, and LG has surprisingly acquired third place with a 4.8% market share. The success of LG and Samsung shows the domination of Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) over the smartphone industry and the increasing strength of the Android operating system. The primary reason behind the success of LG has been the sale of Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG)’s Nexus 4 devices by the manufacturer.
Product launches
The two biggest product launches in the smartphone space are Samsung’s Galaxy S4 and Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s iPhone 5s. The Galaxy S4 has already been launched in Korea and has so far received favorable reviews from the industry. The device does not make any leaps and bounds in terms of technology but is an attractive update to Galaxy S3. However, the spotlight is still on Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) and its summer product launches. There is a lot of speculation on the prospects of a cheaper iPhone for South American and Asian markets. While many would argue that Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) should keep the premium iPhone image, the company is not alien to rolling out multiple iterations of a product e.g. iPod, iPad etc.
Top Five Smartphone Vendors, Shipments, and Market Share, 2013 Q1 (Units in Millions)
IDC
| Vendor | 1Q13 Unit Shipments | 1Q13 Market Share | 1Q12 Unit Shipments | 1Q12 Market Share | Year-over-year Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Samsung | 70.7 | 32.7% | 44.0 | 28.8% | 60.7% |
| Apple | 37.4 | 17.3% | 35.1 | 23.0% | 6.6% |
| LG | 10.3 | 4.8% | 4.9 | 3.2% | 110.2% |
| Huawei | 9.9 | 4.6% | 5.1 | 3.3% | 94.1% |
| ZTE | 9.1 | 4.2% | 6.1 | 4.0% | 49.2% |
| Others | 78.8 | 36.4% | 57.5 | 37.7% | 37.0% |
| Total | 216.2 | 100.0% | 152.7 | 100.0% | 41.6% |
Bottom line
Android is strengthening its position in all different classes of the smartphone industry through its manufacturers such as LG and Samsung. Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) still needs to improve its performance in the Asian markets, especially China, and this might motivate the technology giant to finally launch a medium range iPhone. Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) and Research In Motion Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) have still not gained the success that the market expected with their BlackBerry 10 and Windows 8. The strength of the ecosystem remains the key if any player even wants to get close to the current Android domination.
The article A Numbers Game in the Smartphone Industry originally appeared on Fool.com and is written by Mohsin Saeed.
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