South Korean mobile phone giant Samsung shipped almost 320 million smartphones last year – the highest number ever recorded for one year by a single vendor, new data revealed.
Market researcher Strategy Analytics noted that the total number of smartphones shipped by handset makers worldwide increased by 41 per cent in 2013 to reach 990 million.
However, the increase was slightly lower than the record 43 per cent growth seen in 2012, primarily due to heavy saturation in key markets like the US, said Ken Hyers, Senior Analyst at Strategy Analytics.
Samsung accounted for 32.3 per cent of the global smartphone market in 2013 as it shipped 319.8 million smartphones. This is more than double the 15.5 per cent market share of second-placed Apple.
In a statement, Neil Mawston, Strategy Analytics’ executive director, said: “Apple grew a sluggish 13 per cent annually and shipped 153.4 million smartphones worldwide for 15 per cent market share in 2013, dipping from the 19 per cent level recorded in 2012.”
While the Cupertino company remains strong within the high-end smartphone segment, its “lack of presence in the low-end category is costing it lost volumes in fast-growing emerging markets such as India.”
On Monday, Apple said it sold 51 million iPhones in its fiscal first quarter, which is the highest number ever in a single quarter. The figure is also 6.7 per cent higher than the 47.8 million it sold over the same period in 2012.
Meanwhile, Huawei, LG and Lenovo occupied the remaining three posts in the top five for 2013, accounting for 5.1, 4.8, and 4.6 per cent respectively.
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