In the same year that more smartphones were shipped than feature phones in one quarter, 2013 also saw the total smartphone shipments top the 1 billion mark for the first time ever. Data released by the International Data Corporation revealed that a total of 1004.2 billion smartphones were shipped in 2013, which amounted to a 38.4% increase from 2012’s figures.
With an ever-increasing amount of people worldwide getting connected, it also follows that 2013 saw more shipments of smartphones compared to feature phones – another first in the industry. And, as one might aspect, the majority of these shipped smartphones were manufactured by Samsung, who shipped 313.9 million smartphones – 31.3% of the entire global smartphone shipments last year. Apple placed a distant second, with 153.4 million iOS devices shipped.
What’s also important to note is the increasing rise of smartphones shipped by the major Chinese companies, notably Huawei and Lenovo. Huawei’s range of affordable but well-built smartphones saw the company place third in the list of the top smartphone vendors last year, while Lenovo’s “protect and attack” approach for the post-PC era proved to be quite a success, as the company shipped more smartphones compared to South Korean company LG, who placed fifth.
Moving forward, it is likely that the trend will continue this year, as countries such as China and India become more connected and increase demand for smartphones, particularly in the sub-$150 segment.
(Source: IDC)
