1 August 2011

Apple becomes number one smartphone vendor in Q2/2011 

Global smartphone shipments grew 76% year-on-year to a record 110 million units in second-quarter 2011, according to a report from market research firm Strategy Analytics’ Wireless Smartphone Strategies (WSS) service. Both Apple and Samsung overtook long-time volume leader Nokia for the top two spots in the rankings.

“We had previously reported on Apple becoming the largest smartphone vendor in terms of revenue and profits. Now, just four years after the release of the original iPhone, Apple has become the world’s largest smartphone vendor by volume,” says senior analyst Alex Spektor. The firm’s shipments have risen from just 8.4 million to 20.3 million units, boosting its market share from 13.5% to 18.5%. “Apple’s growth remained strong as it expanded distribution worldwide, particularly in China and Asia,” he adds.

Samsung’s shipments grew a huge 520% year-on-year, from 3.1 million to 19.2 million units, raising its market share from 5% to 17.5%. “Samsung’s Galaxy portfolio has proven popular, especially the high-tier S2 Android model,” says Neil Mawston, director at Strategy Analytics.

“Having become the first ever vendor to ship 100 million smartphones in a single year during 2010, long-time leader Nokia has slipped two places in our rankings in Q2/2011,” notes Strategy Analytics director Tom Kang. Its quarterly unit shipments fell year-on-year from 23.8 million to 16.7 million in Q2/2011. “The vendor’s 15.2% global smartphone market share is less than half of what it was just one year earlier [38.1%], as the industry awaits Nokia’s pending transition to Windows Phone 7,” he adds. 

See related items:

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Smartphone shipments grow 75% to record 94 million in Q4

Tags: Smartphones

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