March 28, 2024
Samsung More Than Doubles Apple in 3Q12 Smartphone Sales

Samsung More Than Doubles Apple in 3Q12 Smartphone Sales

Posted October 26, 2012 at 7:05pm by iClarified
Samsung more than doubled Apple in smartphone shipments for 3Q12, according to an IDC study.

The worldwide mobile phone market grew 2.4% year over year in the third quarter of 2012 (3Q12), driven by heavyweights Samsung and Apple as Nokia dropped off the Top 5 list of smartphone vendors. According to the International Data Corporation (IDC) Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker, vendors shipped a total of 444.5 million mobile phones in 3Q12 compared to 434.1 million units in the third quarter of 2011. In the worldwide smartphone market vendors shipped 179.7 million units in 3Q12 compared to 123.7 million units in 3Q11. The 45.3% year-over-year growth was slightly above IDC's forecast of 45.2% for the quarter.

Smartphone Vendor Highlights
Samsung maintained its leadership position in the worldwide smartphone market, posting another record quarter for itself and the industry, and more than double the total volume of its next closest competitor, Apple. This marks the first time since 4Q09 that a single company held more than 31% market share in a single quarter. Samsung's growth was fueled in large part by its broad, deep, and refreshed Android portfolio, highlighted by the full quarter availability of its flagship model Galaxy S III. In addition, the company announced multiple mid-range and mass-market models, including a new Windows Phone, the ATIV S.


Apple iPhone shipments finished the quarter nearly flat from the previous quarter, reaching a total of 26.9 million units. Although the iPhone 5 was only on the market for one week in 3Q12, the aggressive rollout of the device resulted in more than 5 million iPhones sold in the first weekend of availability, which helped buoy Apple's shipment totals. iPhone sales weren't dampened by the introduction of its Maps software, which was not completely ready for use. Instead, the iPhone 5's larger screen and 4G LTE connectivity generated user interest. What remains to be seen is how Apple will fare during the holiday quarter, when the iPhone 5 will be available in more countries worldwide.

Research In Motion's shipment volumes appear to have flattened though the company posted the second-highest year-over-year decline of any the leading vendors. RIM relied on its older product portfolio and models to achieve its status as a top 5 smartphone seller. RIM's installed base, which topped 80 million active users during the quarter, provides further evidence of the company's widespread presence globally. Still, without a new flagship model in time for the holiday season and BB10 models not expected until the first quarter of 2013, RIM's position as a top 5 smartphone vendor will be under tremendous pressure from other companies.

ZTE finished among the top 5 smartphone vendors globally thanks to continued international diversification efforts last quarter. ZTE has grown its smartphone sales of late thanks primarily to an uptick in lower-cost smartphone sales in many emerging markets. The company has traditionally been dependent on sales of phones to China, where the company is based. However, notable progress was made in North America last quarter.

HTC clung to the number 5 smartphone spot last quarter thanks to sales of key models such as the HTC One X and the EVO 4G. Continued year-over-year growth in the Asia/Pacific region helped the smartphone vendor offset some of the share losses the vendor has endured in key mature markets, namely the U.S. The company hopes to rejuvenate its global fortunes this quarter with the introduction of the 8X and 8S models, powered by Microsoft's Windows Phone 8, among others. However, it will have to convince consumers that the differences between the models and Android-powered phones or iPhones are interesting enough to merit a purchase.


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Samsung More Than Doubles Apple in 3Q12 Smartphone Sales
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Comments (20)
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shojus
shojus - October 29, 2012 at 4:04am
Lets all be REAL here.... There are two phones that are making Samsung rich! Note 2 & Galaxy S 3... NUFF SAID! Your iphone 5 is an outdated IOS device and the Note 2 stomps it in benchmarks! Again.... NUFF SAID!! LOL ;) You can make fun of the plastic but that plastic is housing the fastest phone out and an open source OS that is crushing Apple's sales....
Jeff
Jeff - October 29, 2012 at 4:24am
Not according to the latest thorough benchmark scores. Seems a dual core chip spanks a quad core chip in all but a few measurements. Keep on dreaming Fandroid.
HJ
HJ - October 27, 2012 at 10:02pm
Glass and Aluminum > Plastic and more plastic. superior OS with excellent UI > complicated, fragmented OS with different versions for different handsets. 'nuff said.
1
Jeff
Jeff - October 27, 2012 at 3:13pm
So when do you think Samesong will get a REAL OS, you know, one that doesn't run in a Virtual Machine that REQUIRES a quad core 1.6Ghz processor just to keep up with a dual core processor? Keep dreaming because what you predict, it's never going to happen. By the way, who do you call when you have an issue with the phone or OS? Gaagle doesn't have a customer support line, let alone a store one could simply walk into for repairs or replacement. Apple customers are WILLING to pay just a bit more for the convenience of a superior EXPERIENCE, be it with the device or Apple's fantastic customer service. It's the whole EXPERIENCE, from purchase to support to ecosystem. Apple has the WHOLE widget here, what does Gaagle or Samesong have?
jojo
jojo - October 27, 2012 at 1:51pm
This is only logical... Apple has only one phone, the iPhone. Samsung has dozens and most of them are really low end and thus very affordable. Only a few of them are in the High-end segment like the iPhone.
8a92936
8a92936 - October 27, 2012 at 2:47am
Djdjdjdxxx
Lov3boyz
Lov3boyz - October 26, 2012 at 11:49pm
Wtf, why just compare many type of smartphone company with little type of smartphone company ? Can you just compare S3 with iPhone 5 ? Haha...
Beholder
Beholder - October 26, 2012 at 10:41pm
Sales number dont mean nothing... Ford sells 1000 times more cars than Ferrari and Ferrari is 1000 times better. Nobody can compare a piece of art that is the iphone with a piece of plastic with childish apps there is junksung
James
James - October 26, 2012 at 9:48pm
All you people posting do know what 3Q2012 is right? It's up until september 30th. That's a week or less of ip5 sales. Plus, how many samsung models with how many different price points? They should outsell a company that releases 1 model a year.
Jones
Jones - October 26, 2012 at 9:39pm
What comes up must also go back down. It's nature. Apple has reached its climax. Only way left is down. Just watch and you will see how its stock will eventually crash.
Gg2012
Gg2012 - October 26, 2012 at 8:59pm
LOL You can Get a Samsung Phone in a frosted flakes box or buy one and get two for free.
Ricky
Ricky - October 26, 2012 at 7:59pm
HAHAHA well well Apple once again playing second fiddle to the king Samsung. Love how all the iFans try and justify their reason for Crapple not selling as much.
Jeff
Jeff - October 26, 2012 at 8:11pm
Nobody is making excuses here. The FACT is Samesong has hundreds of models, most of which aren't smartphones in ANY significant way. It doesn't take rocket science to do the math when it is 100's of phones in various configurations vs 1 phone with 12 variations on the market. The true test is profitability, which is undisputedly in Apples favor, by a HUGE margin. It's called flooding the market to confuse the consumer.
Jeff
Jeff - October 26, 2012 at 8:38pm
Shipped vs SOLD. Profit margins. Let's say I SOLD 100 million units @ .01% profit. Now compare that to 50 million @ 40% profit. Who made more money? Waiting... Now, let's say I SHIPPED 100 million units @ 10% profit margin. Can you tell me how much money I made? Didn't think so....
Jeff
Jeff - October 26, 2012 at 8:49pm
Was supposed to be: Can you tell me how many units I sold? Didn't think so....
Jeff
Jeff - October 26, 2012 at 9:34pm
There is NO way in any reality that Samesong SOLD more phones than Apple on a 1-1 basis. Samesong DOESN'T release sales figures (except during the trial vs Apple) only shipments. How can ANYONE determine their marketshare based on those FACTS? They CAN'T, PERIOD. Samsung SHIPPED 56.9 million smartphones worldwide in the third quarter of 2012. How many are in the hands of customers as SALES? Unknown, they do NOT release those numbers. Apple SOLD 26.9 million iPhones in the third quarter of 2012. Now, as mentioned before, some numbers did come to light during the trial and they weren't very flattering for Samesong. Here is an excerpt from the numbers that WERE released: Sales figures for some prominent Apple and Samsung devices have been released as a result of the ongoing legal battle between the two tech giants, and the numbers show that the Cupertino, California-based iPhone and iPad developer has a sizable lead on their South Korean rivals, various media outlets reported on Friday. According to Matt Warman, Consumer Technology Editor for the UK newspaper The Telegraph, the Samsung figures, which only include devices which allegedly infringe upon Apple patents, show that the company shipped a total of 21 million smartphones, including 4.1 million Galaxy S2 handsets, to U.S. carriers since April 2010. During that same time, Apple shipped a total of 62.8 million iPhones. Likewise, Samsung sold a reported 1.4 million Galaxy tablets, while court documents disclose that 34 million iPads were sold in the two-plus years covered in the statistics, Warman added. “The figures will be embarrassing for Samsung, which has repeatedly declined to put figures on its shipments or sales of smartphones or tablets since early 2011, preferring instead only to give revenue figures,” Guardian reporter Charles Arthur said. He also noted that the numbers “do not appear to show how many Samsung devices were returned from carriers or retailers because they did not sell. But it is known that a number of the Galaxy Tab tablets were returned by customers, following a study by Samsung which was entered into evidence earlier this week.” “The dramatic difference between the Samsung tablet shipments, and those for Apple’s iPad, bear out the suggestion that the U.S. company has dominated the tablet market since introducing the iPad in April 2010 — but also raise the question of why it is so desperate to crush a company whose products sell so poorly in comparison,” Arthur added. The sales figures are the latest in a long line of closely-guarded secrets that have come to light as part of the trial, Fortune’s JP Mangalindan pointed out late last week. Not looking too good considering Samesong's multitude of devices vs Apple's single model.
Jeff
Jeff - October 27, 2012 at 12:00am
So you trot out an info-graphic of Samesongs TOTAL profit of 4 different segments (telecom, display, media and appliances, semiconductor) and want me to believe that that is somehow equal to another info-graphic breaking down Apples TOTAL mobile sales? How about you look here, since you obviously couldn't trust Samesongs trial evidence for it's merits. http://1.androidauthority.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/Screen-Shot-2012-05-03-at-5-3-10.33.31-AM.jpg Or here: http://1.androidauthority.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/Screen-Shot-2012-05-03-at-5-3-10.57.12-AM.jpg Samsung, for example, reported profits of $2.2 billion from smartphone sales last quarter, 60% of the electronic giant's total. iPhone sales last quarter, while less than expected, generated revenues of nearly $11 billion (39% of Apple's total). Assuming, conservatively, 60% profit margins on each iPhone sold, that's an estimated profit of $6.5 billion, leaving No. 1 Samsung in the dust. Now, that's 3 times you have been proven WRONG. At this point, I think it has been sufficiently beaten to death and your offensive language has become intolerable, I therefore declare this debate/conversation is over.
Jeff
Jeff - October 26, 2012 at 7:34pm
Considering this is spread out over HUNDREDS of models, it's no surprise, however it is really insignificant because it is speculation (an estimate) because Samesong doesn't report sales but shipments. How many millions are in customers hands vs sitting in warehouses is unknown.
odedoo1
odedoo1 - October 26, 2012 at 7:17pm
no wonders after all the f**k ups with the iPhone 5, and iOS 6!!!
1
odedo1_swallos_may_load
odedo1_swallos_may_load - October 26, 2012 at 7:39pm
Have you ever stopped to think how many cheap model Samsuck phones flooding the market? They offer free to dirt cheap smartphones all over the world. Apple on the other hand was targeted to mid to high end price point to limited countries. Do not beat the old drum that Samsung had more features blah, blah, blah. Here's one for you...a Rolls Royce is up to 4X pricier than a Lexus. Most people would buy what they can afford in this case, a Lexus, all due to its price point-to-features content but there are people many who prepares the ultimate, luxury, exclusivity, and details of a Rolls Royce...Same case with the iPhone...it might not be the very best smartphone but it does its job well with attention to aesthetic details...Samphuck phones on the other hand looks like it could pass for a Fisher-Price toy phones...
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