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If an iPad's a computer, then Apple is the world's PC shipment leader
Is an iPad a portable media device? A tablet computer? Something entirely "post-PC"? The answer, of course, is "it depends who you ask." Let's go ahead and define the parent category for iPads (and other tablets like the Kindle Fire, Samsung Galaxy Tab and Google Nexus) as "mobile screens that run a touch-centric OS, don't ship with a hardware keyboard, are larger than a mainstream smartphone and don't offer telephony as a core feature." Call that a tablet, or a "pad" if you must to distinguish it from legacy tablet PCs and the potential fridge toasters of Microsoft's Surface devices. If that's the bucket we're talking about, some reasonable sales comparisons are available. The fourth quarter of 2012 saw Samsung ship 7.6 million pads, and Amazon shipped 4.6 million, according to a report released today by research firm Canalys. With Apple's reported sales of 22.9 million iPads, it's pretty clear who's leading the category. Canalys's report doesn't leave it at that, however. With a wave of the marketshare wand, the report combines 22.9 million iPads with Apple's reported sales of 4.1 million Macs in the quarter. Accordingly, the firm puts Apple's total PC sales at 27 million for the quarter, handily crushing second-place HP's 15 million units shipped. In fact, if you admit the iPad to the PC club, Apple's quarter put it above 20 percent of the global PC share for the first time. From October 1 to December 31, in that 13-week quarter -- given the looser, flatter, touchable definition of a PC that Canalys is proposing -- one out of every six PCs sold worldwide was actually an iPad. I wish to take nothing away from Apple's achievements with the iPad. Selling 23 million of anything is really rather tough, and a jar of salsa's a far cry from a device with an average selling price $150 higher than a ticket from New York to LA. But just because consumers may be choosing the iPad as an alternative to buying a laptop or a computer doesn't necessarily mean they should be counted as members of the same taxon. Both by form and function, the iPad and its fellow "pad" products should really be considered post-PC devices distinct from PCs and also from smartphones -- they don't require a keyboard or mouse, they don't run legacy Win32 or Mac apps, they don't usually make phone calls. And they surely don't sell the way PCs do. [via NYT Bits]
Apple overtakes Samsung as top US mobile phone vendor
Strategy Analytics' latest mobile phone report is out, and Apple's iPhone is the winner here in the US, taking the top spot for the first time in its history. Apple displaced Samsung, which has held the title as America's most popular mobile phone brand since 2008. According to Strategy Analytics, Apple shipped 17.7 million iPhones in the quarter and grabbed a 34 percent market share. Estimates for Samsung suggest the carrier shipped 16.8 million phones for a 32.3 percent market share. LG came in third with 4.7 million units that account for 9 percent of the mobile phone market here in the US. These numbers include both smartphones and feature phones, which makes Apple's chart-topping performance that much more impressive. [Via Apple Insider]
Strategy Analytics: Apple tops US phone market for Q4 2012, but Samsung takes the year
Strategy Analytics have shared the state of the global smartphone OS market, but today it's focused specifically on the US, where the iPhone 5 helped Apple to reclaim the last quarter from Samsung. iPhone claimed 34 percent of vendor shipments in the last quarter, while Samsung's smartphone range wasn't far behind with 32.3 percent. Apple's resurgence with its new smartphone couldn't catch up with Samsung's lead earlier in the year, however, with the Korean phone-maker commanding a 31.8 percent share of all smartphones shipped over the last 12 months. Apple was next with 26.2 percent, while LG came third with 12.3 percent of all phones sold. The analytics firm reckons that 52 million devices were shipped in Q4, increasing just short of 2 million units since the same period last year. However, it also noted that annual sales in the US were actually less than in 2012 than in the preceding year, dropping just under 20 million units in the interim. Strategy Analytics pointed the finger at economic uncertainty and tougher carrier upgrade policies for the drop in shipments.
Strategy Analytics: Android claimed 70 percent of world smartphone share in Q4 2012
Maybe it's easier being green than we thought. We suspected Android would do well in smartphone market share when Strategy Analytics had Samsung surging ahead in the fourth quarter of 2012, but the firm's newer breakdown of estimated share by OS shows an even larger jump for Google's overall platform -- from 51.3 percent in fall 2011 to 70.1 percent one year later. Apple was knocked down slightly to 22 percent, although it's mostly other platforms that took the bruising. Collectively, BlackBerry, Symbian, Windows Phone and other platforms sank from 25.1 percent of the smartphone space in late 2011 to just 7.9 points as 2012 drew to a close. When just two companies' platforms make up 92 percent of smartphones, it's safe to call the result a duopoly, like Strategy Analytics does -- even if others aren't so content with the idea.
IDC: Samsung extends lead over Apple in smartphone marketshare, while Huawei and ZTE increase influence
Right off the heels of too many financial reports and yet more smartphone research, IDC has weighed in with its own thoughts and analysis, noting that demand for smartphones is -- unsurprisingly -- not letting up. While the global market for mobile phones grew by 1.9 percent in the last quarter, "strong holiday smartphone sales" meant that units shipped were almost equal that of cheaper feature phones. 219.4 million smartphones shipped -- 45.5 percent of all phone shipments -- was slightly below IDC's optimistic predictions for Q4, but it's still been a notable quarter for new competitors like Huawei, which elbowed LG out from the top 5. IDC's senior analyst Kevin Restivo puts it down to Huawei's advantage in low-cost devices, not to mention its placement within China -- a country that can't get enough of phones. ZTE also placed within IDC's Top 5 smartphone vendor leaderboard in the last quarter, with a 4.3 percent marketshare, although Samsung (29 percent) and Apple (21.8 percent) continued to dominate the top spots. Samsung saw a 76 percent increase since Q4 2011, extending its lead over the iPhone maker, while Huawei, now third, saw an 89.5 percent year-on-year increase on its smartphone shipments. Estimates on Sony's shipments place it fourth, with a decent 55.6 percent change since the same quarter in 2011. Annual smartphone sales saw a more familiar pecking order, with Samsung, Apple, Nokia, HTC and RIM filling the lead positions. Year-on-year changes for Nokia, HTC and RIM were negative, likely affected on both sides by the aforementioned champions and new contenders -- the Finnish phone maker dropped shipments by 54.6 percent according to IDC's figures. Prefer your metrics and year-on-year changes tabled? Well, we've added both the quarterly and annual summaries right after the break.
ComScore: iPhone up to 35 percent of US smartphone share in November, Android steady
Smartphone launches sometimes have to build up steam before they can go full speed ahead. Apple might be learning this first-hand, based on ComScore's figures. After a lackluster October, the company's just-reported November smartphone market share in the US was up sharply, to 35 percent; while the spike isn't directly credited to the iPhone 5, rapidly growing availability of the company's newest smartphone certainly didn't hurt. Android was still comfortably ruling the roost at 53.7 percent, although its share was only a slight increase over October. As such, most of Apple's gain during the month came from smaller rivals' pain. It was a more familiar story among individual phone makers. Samsung had a comfortable lead at 26.9 percent of the larger American cellphone market in November, while Apple padded its advantage over a sinking LG to hit 18.5 percent. With Motorola and HTC also on the downward slide, the US market this fall was increasingly mirroring its global counterpart, where it was really Apple and Samsung's game to play -- others might have to be content watching from the sidelines in the future.
Survey: iPhones in the hands of 18.5 percent of US smartphone users
Smartphones account for a little over half (53 percent) of all mobile phones in the US, and comScore's latest numbers show that Apple's iPhones now account for 18.5 percent of the smartphones in the hands of American mobile users. That number, from November 2012, is up 1.4 percent from three months earlier, representing the largest jump for a smartphone manufacturer. Samsung still holds the largest share of mobile subscribers at 26.9 percent, up from 25.7 percent three months earlier. Manufacturers LG, Motorola and HTC all saw small declines in share during the survey period. Apple overtook LG in the No. 2 spot on the list. In terms of mobile platforms, Android is still the king with a whopping 53.7 percent of the market. That share figure is up 1.1 percent over August 2012. Apple's iOS platform also increased in market share by 0.7 percent, ending up at a 35 percent share at the end of November. Who were the losers in terms of top smartphone platforms? RIM, Microsoft and Symbian. RIM's BlackBerry platform now accounts for only a 7.3 percent share of the smartphone market, while various Microsoft smartphone operating systems accounted for 3 percent of the market. Symbian continued its descent into oblivion, dropping 0.2 percentage points to a barely registered 0.5 percent market share. [via MacRumors]
Kantar: iPhone 5 boosts Apple's US smartphone share to 53.3 percent, Android still tops in Europe
Stop us if you've heard this one before: the launch of a flagship, brand-defining smartphone gives its creator a swift leap in market share immediately afterwards. There's no surprise that the iPhone 5 will have improved Apple's standing in the US, then, but Kantar Worldpanel's market share study suggests that the lift was more than some expected. The firm estimates that Apple climbed to 53.3 percent of American smartphone share in the three months leading up to late November. The figure is both Apple's highest ever for the country as well as its first venture past the 50 percent mark. Android in this climate held on to 41.9 percent of the market, hinting that many of those market-shifting iPhone sales came after October. Kantar expects a similar story this month, although it's not predicting how well the Cupertino crew will fare beyond that. Lest anyone take the results out of context, Kantar points out that it's often a Google-friendly world. Android represents 61 percent of smartphone sales in the five largest European countries, while Apple's share in countries like Brazil and China is still small. There is an upside for Microsoft on this wider scale -- a year of Nokia Lumia sales and the early results of the Windows Phone 8 launch have reportedly pushed Redmond's platform back up to 4.7 percent in those five European nations. We're a long way from going beyond a two-horse race in the smartphone field, but there's at least hints of change on the horizon.
Apple at highest-ever iPhone marketshare in US
All models of the iPhone accounted for 53.3 percent of all smartphone purchases in the US in the 12 weeks ending November 25, according to research from Kantar Worldpanel Comtech. That's good news for Apple, as the figure is the highest it's ever been in the US, rising more than 5 percentage points from the 12-week figure from October. Android, at 41.9 percent, and RIM were the the losers in the US. The Windows Phone platform is now in third place, grabbing a little over 7 percent of all purchases in the study time period. While the marketshare news is positive in the US, things aren't as nice for Apple in Europe. Android phones account for over 61 percent of all smartphones sold in Europe's top five markets, with Apple trailing drastically at just 25 percent. Developing markets are also iPhone-unfriendly. Android phones sucked up sales in both Brazil, with a 60.7 percent share of the smartphone market, and China at a whopping 72.2 percent.
Google's Eric Schmidt focused on growing Android's share, admits it won't be 'perfectly controlled'
During a wide-ranging Bloomberg interview with Google Chairman Eric Schmidt, the executive focused for a bit on the current status of Android, while also making a few interesting comments about its future. "This is a huge platform change; this is of the scale of 20 years ago -- Microsoft versus Apple," he said. Following that, he stated that Google was "winning that war pretty clearly now," referencing the 72 percent market share figure that was tallied up by Gartner at the end of Q3 2012. And with some 1.3 million Android devices being activated each day, it's hard to argue with the sheer momentum of the thing. Beyond all that -- phrases that have been said before by bigwigs at the company in roundabout ways -- things got particularly interesting when he pivoted to talking about his plans for the operating system's future: "The core strategy is to make a bigger pie. We will end up with a not perfectly controlled and not perfectly managed bigger pie by virtue of open systems." In many ways, this touches directly on the fragmentation issue that's becoming more and more prevalent with each passing Android release. The longer the platform lives, the more people are being left behind on older builds. Without trying to read too closely betwixt the lines, it sure sounds as if Google's top priority is to get Android to as many people as possible, while letting the details -- things like percentage of Android users able to update to its latest version -- fall as they may. It's obviously a very different tactic from that taken in Cupertino, but then again, thinking differently sure hasn't hurt either of the two.
IDC: Samsung and Apple rule connected device share, those who snooze in mobile lose
Most market share studies are broken down by individual categories that don't tell the whole story of their successes and failures. IDC has stepped forward with a more holistic look that covers PCs, phones and tablets all at once -- and paints a very different picture. Samsung and Apple lead the pack in the third quarter of this year with an estimated 21.8 and 15.1 percent share each, based mostly on their mobile dominance. Lenovo's equal balance between its rapidly growing PC and phone businesses put it at 7 percent. It's those who haven't done well outside of PCs that have struggled: IDC is quick to point out that HP's exit from mobile left it at 4.6 percent and sinking fast, while it's commonly known that Sony has yet to enjoy a truly blockbuster hit with its Android-based smartphones or tablets. The situation is changing quickly, but the data shows that companies can't lean solely on traditional computers to thrive in the broader technology landscape.
IDC: Apple slipped to sixth in China smartphone share in Q3, Samsung and locals sat on top
The Chinese smartphone market is a tough nut to crack given its sensitivity to prices and a slew of strong domestic brands. IDC estimates suggest Apple may have learned this the hard way during the third quarter of this year: it slipped from fourth place in local market share during the second quarter to sixth. Samsung kept out in front, but everyone else who knocked Apple down a couple of pegs was from the neighborhood, starting with second-place Lenovo followed by Coolpad, ZTE and Huawei. Price and wider availability no doubt played a part in shifting further towards a (mostly) Android-based field, although the period may have also exacerbated the pre-update lull in sales that Apple often faces -- while those in some countries were picking up an iPhone 5 in September, China won't have its turn until December 14th. Fourth quarter results won't completely reverse the state of affairs, but they could easily be worth watching.
ComScore: Android's US share kept growing in October, Apple passed LG in all cellphones
We've been wondering how much the first full month of iPhone 5 sales would skew US market share in October. The answer is... not much, if you ask ComScore. Android kept growing to 53.6 percent of American smartphones on the back of the Droid RAZR M, Galaxy Note II and other devices, but the iPhone's market share just managed to remain steady at the same 34.3 percent as in September. Apple could mostly be glad that it wasn't in the position of its older rivals: the BlackBerry dipped below 8 percent share, while the wait for a Windows Phone 8 turnaround may have triggered a sharp drop in Microsoft's stake to 3.2 percent. There was a symbolic (if anticipated) changing of the guard for the wider American market, however. After months of closing in, Apple just barely edged out LG to become the second-largest cellphone maker of any kind on the US stage at 17.8 percent. A familiar scenario elsewhere kept Samsung once again on top at 26.3 percent, while Motorola and HTC remained on a downward slide. We'll be keeping a close eye on how the November results alter the status quo -- between Windows Phone, LG's Optimus G and a cavalcade of multi-device launches, there's been potential for more than one tidal shift in the mobile world in the past few weeks.
iPhone now said to be top selling U.S. smartphone
Reuters reports that brisk iPhone 5 sales pushed the iPhone's market share over Android's in the three months ending October 31. This information was shared at the Kantar World Panel today. Apple's share of the market has doubled from a year ago to 48.1 percent. That's very close to the record 49.3 percent Apple pulled off earlier this year. Android's US share dropped to 46.7 percent from 63.3 percent over the same period. Apple is less dominant in Europe, where Android has a 74 percent market share in Germany and 82 percent in Spain. However, iPhone market share in Europe is showing share gains in four major European countries. The iPhone has a 32.7 percent share in the UK. Dominic Sunnebo of Kantar World Panel says, "Apple has always managed to maintain loyalty levels far above the competition, and this has clearly played a part in driving sales of its new device. An impressive 92 percent of existing Apple owners in the US said they will choose an iPhone the next time they upgrade. While loyalty is clearly key, it is also important to make sure that new customers are attracted to your brand. With roughly 60 percent of US iPhone 5 sales coming from existing customers and 40 percent from new consumers, Apple is achieving this at the moment -- a clear sign of the strength of the brand in the US marketplace." Kantar uses consumer panels and market monitoring as the basis for its research.
Gartner: smartphone sales up 47 percent in Q3, Android's OS market share increases (updated)
Third quarter figures from Gartner are out, reporting worldwide mobile phone sales slowed again in Q3 2012. Smartphones, however, showed a 46.9 percent increase in sales over the same period last year, with 169.2 million units sold. As you would imagine, Apple and Samsung sold the most, accounting for almost half of all worldwide smartphone purchases. Nokia sales declined during the quarter, and with only 7.2 million of its smartphones filling customers' hands, its ranking in this segment plummeted from third to seventh (although Gartner expects sales of the new Lumia devices should soften the fall in Q4). In contrast, Apple had a solid quarter, with sales up 36.2 percent year-on-year, which is expected to continue into the fourth quarter as the iPhone 5 launches in more markets. Samsung didn't do too bad either, increasing sales by 18.6 percent year-on-year thanks to its Galaxy range (although it's important to note this figure is for total phone sales, not just smartphones). In the OS wars, Android continued to grow its market share up to 72.4 percent, with iOS taking the second spot with 13.9 percent. Stalwart RIM made a leap into the top three with its BlackBerry OS, as aging Symbian saw its usage decline further. If you want to pour over the figures yourself, check out the source below. Update: We've tinkered with the post to remove some confusion between total mobile phone sales and smartphone sales. None of the figures have been changed.
IDC: tablet shipments up 6.7 percent in Q3 2012, Apple's market share drops to 50.4 percent
Samsung may dominate Apple in smartphone market share, but the opposite is true for tablets. Third quarter figures from IDC suggest the tablet market grew by 6.7 percent during those three months, and 49.5 percent since the same period last year. Apple was responsible for over half of the 27.8 million shipments worldwide, but lost a significant amount of market share, dropping to 50.4 percent from 65.5 percent in the second quarter. IDC attributes this to consumers holding off for the iPad mini, but expects some of these procrastinators will choose Android tablets due to the relatively high entry price of $329 for the mini. Samsung was second on the leaderboard, shipping over five million tablets and increasing its market share to 18.4 percent, mainly driven by Galaxy Tab and Note 10.1 sales. Amazon and ASUS also had a solid quarter thanks to the Kindle Fires and Nexus 7, respectively, shipping around 2.5 million tablets a piece. Lenovo's presence in China meant it closed out the top five, with modest growth from the same period last year. Apple may still be the biggest player in the tablet market thanks to the iPad brand, but with the significant decline in market share this quarter, it seems IDC's predictions might slowly be coming true.
ComScore: US smartphone share leveled off in September, Android and iPhone continued their reigns
We're so used to constant flux in smartphone market share that it's a surprise when things don't move. Yet that's what we're facing today. ComScore found that the US smartphone field in September was virtually unchanged from where it was in August, even down to smaller players like Symbian and Windows Phone. Accordingly, Android still ruled the roost at 52.5 percent, while 34.3 percent were iPhone adopters. It's difficult to say whether or not the iPhone 5 had a tangible impact -- while Apple had banner sales in the last several days of September, we don't know to what extent that was offset by people holding off from buying an iPhone 4S. Overall cellphone sales showed some of that more reassuring give and take. The positions remained the same, but the US was once again a painful market to be in for anyone that isn't Apple or Samsung. Apple crept up to within a stone's throw of toppling LG at 17.5 percent to its rival's 17.7, while Samsung's successful shift to smartphones helped it keep exactly 26 percent of the mobile sphere. We're most curious to see how October shakes out: between a full month of iPhone 5 sales and the Droid RAZR HD, we may learn that the calmness of September was just a momentary illusion.
IDC: Android claims 75 percent of smartphone shipments in Q3, 136 million handsets sold
Android devices already counted for a lion's share of phones shipped during Q2, and now fresh IDC figures show Google's OS claiming the top spot with a hefty 75 percent marketshare in the third quarter. In total, 136 million Android handsets were shipped during the time frame, a new record in a single quarter. Even with the help of new hardware, iOS lagged behind in second place with a 14.9 percent stake of handsets. Both Blackberry and Symbian clung to their respective 3rd and 4th place spots, making up 6.6 percent of total shipments. Windows-based phones (both WP7 and Windows Mobile) fell to 2 percent, keeping Microsoft in fifth place just above smartphones running Linux. However, with Windows Phone 8 devices making their debut, we wouldn't be surprised to see Redmond's numbers get a boost when IDC's next report rolls around.
IDC: Samsung and Apple still kings of the smartphone market, Nokia loses top five spot to RIM
IDC's third quarter figures are in, complete with a few unexpected shake-ups. The entire cellphone market grew 2.4% over the same time last year, but smartphones drove the majority of that, showing growth of 45.3% and beating the analysts' expectations. Of the 179.7 million smartphones shipped, Samsung and Apple devices accounted for almost half of them, with the companies retaining their number one and two positions in the market, respectively. IDC notes that iPhone shipments didn't increase, but this is somewhat expected given the latest iteration was released only a short time before the end of the quarter. What we find particularly interesting is that Nokia was ousted from the top five smartphone players and replaced by RIM. Whether Nokia's upcoming Windows Phone 8 devices will put it back in contention remains to be seen, as does the effect BB10 and RIM's new handsets will have on the market. ZTE finished fourth in the list thanks to increased sales in North America, with HTC rounding up the top five vendors with continued uptake of its power devices. With a bunch of new handsets coming to the table and the holiday season fast approaching, look out for even more surprises in the fourth quarter numbers, due early next year.
Strategy Analytics claims Android reached 41 percent of tablets in Q3, iPad may have felt the heat
Three months can make all the difference, at least if you're drafting estimates at Strategy Analytics. Now that we know 14 million iPads shipped in the third quarter, the analyst group believes that Apple's tablet market share dropped from 68.3 percent in the spring to 56.7 percent in the summer. All of the shift is attributed to Android -- researchers think that shipments of Google-based tablets surged from 7.3 million to 10.2 million, handing the platform 41 percent of an increasingly crowded space. It's the "collective weight" of so many Android-reliant companies leaping into the market rather than any one of them pulling ahead, Strategy Analytics says. We wouldn't be shocked if a few Kindle Fire HD sales played a part. More than a few wildcards still surround the figures and their long-term impact. First is that these are estimates, not concrete results: companies like Amazon steadfastly refuse to provide shipment numbers and leave most of the final tally beyond Apple to educated guesswork. It's also an understatement to say that the market will change dramatically before 2012 is over. Between Windows 8's launch, possible Nexus 7 upgrades and two new iPads, there are a lot of pieces moving on the chessboard.
