Samsung And Apple Retain Almost Half of The Smartphone Market

Gartner has just published its quarterly report covering global mobile phone sales according to operating system and manufacturer. While sales dropped 3.1% during the third quarter of 2012 compared to the same period a year ago, smartphone sales experienced a 47% spike, rising to 169.2 million units in Q3.

Apple is indeed behind Samsung and Nokia in terms of mobile phone shipments, but when narrowed to smartphones only, Samsung and Apple captured 46.5% of global smartphone shipments, with the South Korean manufacturer shipping 55 million smartphone units driven by the demand for its flagship Galaxy line, and Apple shipping 23.6 million units, the Gartner report highlights.

Apple’s sales to end users totaled 23.6 million units in the third quarter of 2012, up 36.2 percent year-on-year. “We saw inventory built up into the channel as Apple prepared for the coming holiday season, global expansions and the launch into China in the fourth quarter of 2012,” said Mr. Gupta. With iPhone 5 launching in more territories in the fourth quarter of 2012, including China, and the upcoming holiday season Gartner analysts expect Apple will have its traditionally strongest quarter. 

In terms of mobile OS’s, the race between Android and iOS shows Android has gained traction: Android now accounts for 72.4% of the global market, while iOS retains only 13.9%, down from 15% recorded last year.

[Via TechCrunch]