Apple Projected as World's Top Smartphone Vendor for 2011

About six weeks ago, it was revealed that Apple had passed Nokia and held off Samsung to become the world's largest smartphone vendor as measured by shipments during the second quarter of 2011, even if Nokia reportedly held off Apple in sales to end users.

digitimes 2011 smartphone forecast
Digitimes Research now reports that it is projecting Apple to take the top spot among global smartphone vendors for the entire calendar year of 2011, leading the way with nearly 19% of the market at 86.4 million units. Apple is projected to easily top Nokia, whose shipments appear set to drop 25% to under 75 million.

Apple is expected to overtake Nokia as the top ranking vendor in terms of shipment volume in 2011, while Huawei Technologies will enjoy robust growth in shipments enabling the China-based company to close its gap with Sony Ericsson and Motorola.

Apple's smartphone shipments are projected to top 86.4 million units in 2011, up 82% from 47.5 million units in 2010. In contrast, Nokia's smartphone shipments in 2011 will decline to 74.4 million units from over 100 million in 2010, said Luke Lin, analyst for Digitimes Research.

Samsung's strong growth on the popularity of several of its Android-based handsets should see it leap over both HTC and Research in Motion, but will not yet be enough to catch either Nokia or Apple in full-year shipments.

Related Forum: iPhone

Popular Stories

m5 macbook pro deal

Why You Shouldn't Buy the Next MacBook Pro

Tuesday February 10, 2026 4:27 pm PST by
Apple is planning to launch new MacBook Pro models as soon as early March, but if you can, this is one generation you should skip because there's something much better in the works. We're waiting on 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models with M5 Pro and M5 Max chips, with few changes other than the processor upgrade. There won't be any tweaks to the design or the display, but later this...
iOS 26

Apple Releases iOS 26.3 and iPadOS 26.3

Wednesday February 11, 2026 10:07 am PST by
Apple today released iOS 26.3 and iPadOS 26.3, the latest updates to the iOS 26 and iPadOS 26 operating systems that came out in September. The new software comes almost two months after Apple released iOS 26.2 and iPadOS 26.2. The new software can be downloaded on eligible iPhones and iPads over-the-air by going to Settings > General > Software Update. According to Apple's release notes, ...
Apple Logo Zoomed

Apple Expected to Launch These 10+ Products Over the Coming Months

Tuesday February 10, 2026 6:33 am PST by
It has been a slow start to 2026 for Apple product launches, with only a new AirTag and a special Apple Watch band released so far. We are still waiting for MacBook Pro models with M5 Pro and M5 Max chips, the iPhone 17e, a lower-cost MacBook with an iPhone chip, long-rumored updates to the Apple TV and HomePod mini, and much more. Apple is expected to release/update the following products...
iPhone 16e Bottom Crop

Apple Reportedly Unveiling a New iPhone Next Week

Tuesday February 10, 2026 1:51 pm PST by
Apple plans to announce the iPhone 17e on Thursday, February 19, according to Macwelt, the German equivalent of Macworld. The report said the iPhone 17e will be announced in a press release on the Apple Newsroom website, so do not expect an event for this device specifically. The iPhone 17e will be a spec-bumped successor to the iPhone 16e. Rumors claim the device will have four key...
Apple Logo Black

Apple Acquires New Database App

Wednesday February 11, 2026 6:44 am PST by
Apple acquired Canadian graph database company Kuzu last year, it has emerged. The acquisition, spotted by AppleInsider, was completed in October 2025 for an undisclosed sum. The company's website was subsequently taken down and its Github repository was archived, as is commonplace for Apple acquisitions. Kuzu was "an embedded graph database built for query speed, scalability, and easy of ...

Top Rated Comments

188 months ago
[url=https://cdn.macrumors.com/im/macrumorsthreadlogodarkd.png]Image (https://www.macrumors.com/2011/09/06/apple-projected-as-worlds-top-smartphone-vendor-for-2011/)[/url]


About six weeks ago, it was revealed (https://www.macrumors.com/2011/07/29/apple-passes-nokia-and-holds-off-samsung-to-become-worlds-top-smartphone-vendor/) that Apple had passed Nokia and held off Samsung to become the world's largest smartphone vendor as measured by shipments during the second quarter of 2011, even if Nokia reportedly held off Apple (https://www.macrumors.com/2011/08/11/gartner-nokia-held-off-apple-in-smartphone-sales-in-2q-2011/) in sales to end users.

[url=https://cdn.macrumors.com/article-new/2011/09/digitimes_2011_smartphone_forecast-500x277.jpg]Image (https://cdn.macrumors.com/article-new/2011/09/digitimes_2011_smartphone_forecast.jpg)

[/url]
Digitimes Research now reports (http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20110906PR202.html) that it is projecting Apple to take the top spot among global smartphone vendors for the entire calendar year of 2011, leading the way with nearly 19% of the market at 86.4 million units. Apple is projected to easily top Nokia, whose shipments appear set to drop 25% to under 75 million.Samsung's strong growth on the popularity of several of its Android-based handsets should see it leap over both HTC and Research in Motion, but will not yet be enough to catch either Nokia or Apple in full-year shipments.

Article Link: Apple Projected as World's Top Smartphone Vendor for 2011 (https://www.macrumors.com/2011/09/06/apple-projected-as-worlds-top-smartphone-vendor-for-2011/)


I respect Apple not simply to seem cool or hip or something rubbish, but because what ever they do is well thought-out, successful, innovative, proper and not influenced by idiotic public demand. 4 years ago who would have said that Apple was to be the largest Smartphone manufacturer? I wouldn't. And to think they did this with 1 model!! HTC etc. have millions of models. That is why I respect Apple.

----------

But but but android!

Sits back to watch the haters

Android what? That has as much relevance to this as taking a pet pencil to a chocolate convention would do!
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
notabadname Avatar
188 months ago
Impressive. If not only because this is done with essentially one phone model, and not with all carriers even.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
188 months ago
Hopefully within a year or so the only phone on the market will be the iPhone. I hope that every person on earth buys one and that all other companies go the way of the dinosaur.

Well that's just silly. But of course you're being sarcastic. Honestly though, who are you lampooning? No one here wants that to happen or has suggested that they want that to happen.

That said we like to see Apple do well because we like Apple products and the chances of more Apple products coming along rather hinge on the success of the company at present. Furthermore, a healthy level of market penetration for iOS devices is vital for the health of the iOS Apps market which those who own iOS devices have a vested interest in.

So it's entirely rational to be pleased that a company who's products you like is finding success. Let's not pick fights.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
188 months ago
I wonder how this chart would look if there had been a new iPhone released early in H2. I guess we can see why apple is not in a huge rush to meet its usual 12 month release pattern.

As an iPhone 4 user on a 24 month contract it also doesn't bother me. If they leave it much longer I might even be able to resist the expensive mid contract upgrade and skip a generation. Though who knows how long it might be before v6
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
188 months ago
And all without a bigger screen

I've seen a lot of comments about how Apple simply must put a bigger screen on the next iPhone. Yet here we see that the iPhone 4 and the 3GS with there supposedly inferior small screens are both selling better than any model with the supposedly superior massive screens.

I won't mind if the screen size remains the same. I won't mind if it increases. But to suggest that the market demands it is clearly counter factual. Look at the numbers!
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
LagunaSol Avatar
188 months ago
Steve Ballmer: painfully wrong yet again. :apple:
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)