Apple Tops Nokia to Become World's Top Smartphone Vendor

As noted by the Financial Times, Apple has officially passed Nokia to become the world's top smartphone vendor. Apple's rapid growth paired with a sharp drop in shipments for Nokia allowed Apple to turn a 5.5 million unit deficit during the first quarter into a 3.6 million unit lead in the second quarter.

Shipments of Nokia smartphones declined by 34 per cent to 16.7m units, compared with the 20.3m iPhones shipped by Apple in its second quarter.

Apple was already the biggest smartphone maker by revenue and profits, but the April-June period marked the first time it had surpassed Nokia in volume.

Apple has been climbing the rankings of top smartphone vendors as longtime leaders Nokia and Research in Motion have faded. Apple passed Research in Motion in global shipments back in the third quarter of last year, and rapidly closed the gap on Nokia to claim the lead this past quarter.

iphone 4 side shot
Apple has of course faced stiff competition from Android over the last couple of years, but with dozens of manufacturers pushing out Android devices, no single vendor has been able to approach Apple's shipment volumes. Samsung and HTC lead the Android pack and have experienced very strong growth, but each company's smartphone shipments remains about half that of Apple's.

Related Forum: iPhone

Popular Stories

Generic iOS 18

Apple Announces iOS 18.2 Launching Today With These New Features

Wednesday December 11, 2024 5:23 am PST by
Apple has announced that iOS 18.2, iPadOS 18.2, and macOS Sequoia 15.2 will be released today following more than six weeks of beta testing. For the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 models, the update introduces additional Apple Intelligence features, including Genmoji for creating custom emoji, Image Playground and Image Wand for generating images, and ChatGPT integration for Siri. There is also ...
iphone 17 pro concept render cameras

Major iPhone 17 Pro Redesign Backed by Supply Chain Info, Claims Leaker

Thursday December 12, 2024 4:36 am PST by
Next year's iPhone 17 Pro models will reportedly feature a major redesign, specifically centering around changes to the rear camera module, and now new supply chain information appears to confirm the striking change, according to a Chinese leaker. iPhone 17 Pro concept render Late last month, The Information's Wayne Ma claimed that the rear of the ‌iPhone 17‌ Pro and ‌iPhone 17‌ Pro...
m4 mac mini hands on

Cloud-Based M4 and M4 Pro Mac Mini Models Now Available

Wednesday December 11, 2024 7:34 am PST by
Developers now have access to cloud-based M4 and M4 Pro Mac mini units via MacWeb, a Silicon Valley-based provider of cloud services. The company has launched three configurations of the new Mac mini, powered by Apple's M4 and M4 Pro chips. Developers and IT teams can rent these machines for tasks ranging from basic development to advanced artificial intelligence modeling, providing an...
macOS Sequoia Night Feature

Apple Releases macOS Sequoia 15.2 With New Apple Intelligence Features

Wednesday December 11, 2024 10:02 am PST by
Apple today released macOS Sequoia 15.2, the second update to the macOS Sequoia operating system that was released in September. macOS Sequoia 15.2 comes over a month after the release of macOS Sequoia 15.1. Mac users can download the ‌macOS Sequoia‌ update through the Software Update section of System Settings. macOS Sequoia 15.2 adds Image Playground, an app that lets you create...
apple tv purple

New Apple TV and HomePod Mini Launching in 2025

Thursday December 12, 2024 10:39 am PST by
Apple plans to refresh both the Apple TV and the HomePod mini in 2025 as part of a major push into refreshing its smart home product offerings, reports Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. In a report on an upcoming Apple-designed Bluetooth and Wi-Fi chip, Gurman says that the chip will be introduced in a new Apple TV and HomePod mini that are "scheduled" for 2025. While there is no exact timeline...
macbook air m2 13 inch

macOS Sequoia 15.2 Confirms New M4 MacBook Air Models Are Coming

Wednesday December 11, 2024 10:54 am PST by
Apple today made a mistake with its macOS Sequoia 15.2 update, releasing the software for two Macs that have yet to be launched. There is a software file for "Mac16,12" and "Mac16,13," which are upcoming MacBook Air models. The leaked software references the "MacBook Air (13-inch, M4, 2025)" and the "MacBook Air (15-inch, M4, 2025)," confirming that new M4 MacBook Air models are in...
maxresdefault

Apple Releases iOS 18.2 and iPadOS 18.2 With Genmoji, Image Playground, Siri ChatGPT and More

Wednesday December 11, 2024 10:03 am PST by
Apple today released iOS 18.2 and iPadOS 18.2, the second major updates to the iOS 18 and iPadOS 18 updates that came out in September. The new updates come over a month after Apple released iOS 18.1 and iPadOS 18.1. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. The new software can be downloaded on eligible iPhones and iPads over-the-air by going to Settings > General >...

Top Rated Comments

whooleytoo Avatar
175 months ago
As an ex-Nokia user, I find this quite sad. Nokia used to be way out ahead of the crowd in usability and UI design; but they dithered away their lead over many years, being unable to commit decisively to any response to iOS (and then Android) and are suffering badly as a result.

And as for their marriage with the devil - if Microsoft's history is anything to go by - Microsoft will leave with whatever technical gems Nokia has left; while Nokia will be left a dried-out husk. :(

On another note, it's almost scary how big Apple are becoming; and how influential they are in so many markets. They're now the second biggest company by market cap and could well be the biggest within 1-2 quarters. Great for them, scary for other PC, tablet, phone, music player manufacturers; OS developer, music retailer, video retailer etc..etc..
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
gnasher729 Avatar
175 months ago
Taking the numbers, this is more due to Nokia than to Apple. Nokia managed to drop even below Apple's last quarter numbers, while Apple didn't _quite_ manage to get Nokia's numbers for the quarter before.


Nokia? Down.

Next target? Samsung + Android.
I think you are looking in the wrong direction. Samsung is behind Apple in smartphone sales, and Android is not a manufacturer.
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
NebulaClash Avatar
175 months ago
Apple's original goal was 1% of the market with 10 million units sold as a target for 2008. Now Apple sells 20 million in a quarter and is the biggest smart phone manufacturer by volume and revenue and profit.

I think people forget that Apple started with modest goals. They seem to think that if Apple isn't number 1 in any metric it's a massive fail for them. Shows you how expectations have changed since 2007.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
iSmac Avatar
175 months ago
No surprise there!
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
talkingfuture Avatar
175 months ago
Thats an impressive achievement from being total novices a few years back. Well done Apple.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
deadlystriker Avatar
175 months ago
Not surprising. Can't believe people still buy nokia. Those I know who own nokia handsets tend to have the very old ones
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)