Samsung's Big Year: Global Smartphone Sales Numbers Explained

The headline numbers

Close to half of all phones sold were smartphones by then. Shipments of all mobile phones grew a modest 2 percent. Strategy Analytics blamed economic troubles in mature markets such as North America and Western Europe, tighter carrier upgrade rules and changing tastes. Smartphone growth was 43 percent, down from 64 percent a year earlier, as smartphones began to saturate developed regions.

Vendor	Smartphones shipped	All mobile phones shipped
Samsung	213.0 million	396.5 million
Apple	135.8 million	135.8 million
Nokia	35.0 million	335.6 million

Samsung

Samsung shipped a record 213 million smartphones, about 30 percent share, the largest number a single smartphone vendor had shipped in a year. It beat the previous record held by Nokia of 100.1 million. Analysts pointed to hits ranging from the high-end Galaxy Note II to the mass-market Galaxy Y. Across all phones it held 25 percent share and fell just short of 400 million units. ABI Research measured Samsung smartphone shipment growth at 123.8 percent for the year.

Apple

Apple grew 46 percent to 135.8 million, about 19 percent of smartphones. The iPhone 5 launch late in the year was a success, though coverage of its new maps service and supply problems dulled it. Strategy Analytics noted that Apple was strong in North America but had little presence in fast-growing emerging markets such as Africa. ABI Research argued that the iPhone’s hyper-growth was over.

Nokia

Nokia’s smartphone shipments dropped from 77.3 million to 35 million, and its smartphone share fell from 16 percent to 5 percent. All-phone shipments dropped 20 percent from 417.1 million to 335.6 million, as its ageing Symbian platform lost demand. Analysts said the Windows Phone line, including the Lumia 920, was improving but lacked a true hero model. The original writer hoped for a Nokia Android phone, thinking a Lumia running stock Android would look great.

Other findings

• Samsung and Apple together made up half of all smartphones shipped.
• ZTE held 5 percent of the global mobile phone market, with shipments down 8 percent.
• ABI Research estimated 653 million smartphones and 1.6 billion handsets for the year, with smartphones at 41 percent of handset shipments.
• ABI expected pressure on Samsung and Apple as cheaper smartphones gained ground.

Different firms use different methods, so their totals differ slightly.