Research firm IDC today released its estimates of global mobile phone and smartphone shipments for the first quarter 2012, revealing that Apple set a record high in taking 8.8% of the overall mobile phone market. The performance just barely topped Apple's 8.7% share in the previous quarter, which was the launch quarter for the iPhone 4S.
Worldwide Mobile Phone Shipments in 1Q12 in Millions of Units (Source: IDC)
Apple's year-over-year growth of 88% in an overall market which shrank by 1.5% enabled the iPhone maker to solidify its hold on third place in the overall mobile phone market behind Samsung and Nokia. Nokia had been the market leader for well over a decade, but Samsung surged into the lead for the first time during the quarter.
Worldwide Smartphone Shipments in 1Q12 in Millions of Units (Source: IDC)
Looking at the narrower smartphone market, which now comprises 36% of the global mobile phone market, IDC pegs Apple in second place, with its 88% year-over-year growth easily topping the overall segment's growth of 42.5%. But Apple's growth was easily overshadowed by Samsung, which rode the strength of its portfolio of Android-based devices to year-over-year growth of 267% and the top spot in the smartphone rankings.
"The race between Apple and Samsung remained tight during the quarter, even as both companies posted growth in key areas," said Ramon Llamas, senior research analyst with IDC's Mobile Phone Technology and Trends program. "Apple launched its popular iPhone 4S in additional key markets, most notably in China, and Samsung experienced continued success from its Galaxy Note smartphone/tablet and other Galaxy smartphones. With other companies in the midst of major strategic transitions, the contest between Apple and Samsung will bear close observation as hotly-anticipated new models are launched."
Samsung's shipment numbers suffer from significant uncertainty, however, as the company no longer releases official data on its sales for competitive reasons. Consequently, analysts have had to resort to rough estimates for Samsung's numbers, and IDC believes that Samsung registered 42.2 million smartphone shipments to easily top Apple's publicly-released number of 35.1 million units.
Research firm Strategy Analytics last week offered a similar estimate of Samsung's shipments at 44.5 million units for the quarter, but IHS iSuppli painted a very different picture with its estimate of only 32 million smartphone units for Samsung, which would have left Apple atop the rankings for the quarter.
Monday February 3, 2025 1:15 pm PST by Juli Clover
Apple does not approve of the "Hot Tub" pornography app that was released for the iPhone in the EU using alternative app distribution, Apple said in a statement to MacRumors. Further, Apple is concerned about the potential user safety risks with a pornography app, and says that it undermines consumer trust in the Apple ecosystem.
We are deeply concerned about the safety risks that hardcore...
Wednesday February 5, 2025 7:15 am PST by Joe Rossignol
iOS 18.3 was released last month, so the first iOS 18.4 beta should be coming soon. iOS 18.4 is expected to be a more substantial update for the iPhone, with several new features and changes related to Apple Intelligence and beyond.
Apple's website suggests that iOS 18.4 will be released in April, following beta testing. Below, we outline what to expect from the update so far.
Apple...
Tuesday February 4, 2025 8:00 am PST by Juli Clover
Apple today announced the launch of a new app called "Invites," which is designed to allow users to plan events like birthday parties, graduations, vacations, baby showers, and more.
"With Apple Invites, an event comes to life from the moment the invitation is created, and users can share lasting memories even after they get together," said Brent Chiu-Watson, Apple's senior director of...
Wednesday February 5, 2025 10:17 am PST by Juli Clover
Apple hasn't refreshed the Apple TV since 2022, but rumors suggest that we're finally going to get an update in 2025. We don't have a full picture of what to expect yet, but we have some hints on what's coming.
Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos.
Updated A-Series Chip
The current Apple TV 4K uses the A15 Bionic chip that was in the iPhone 13 lineup, and it's time for...
Tuesday February 4, 2025 9:35 am PST by Juli Clover
Apple this week increased the prices for its monthly AppleCare+ subscription prices for the iPhone, raising the cost by 50 cents for all models in the United States.
Standard AppleCare+ for the iPhone 16 models is now priced at $10.49 per month, for example, up from the prior $9.99 per month price. The 50 cent price increase applies to all available AppleCare+ plans for Apple's current...
Tuesday February 4, 2025 7:11 am PST by Joe Rossignol
Update: The new Apple Invites app has officially been announced.
The main iCloud.com page has seemingly confirmed Apple's rumored invites tool, which has yet to be officially announced by the company.
The page says "Apple Invites" will be an iCloud+ feature:Upgrade to iCloud+ to get more storage, plan events with Apple Invites, and have peace of mind with privacy features like iCloud...
Sunday February 2, 2025 6:15 am PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple previously teased that Powerbeats Pro 2 would be released in 2025, and now an announcement date has leaked. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman today said Apple plans to unveil the wireless earbuds on Tuesday, February 11.
Powerbeats Pro 2 will be priced at $250 in the U.S., he said.
Powerbeats Pro are a sportier, fitness-focused alternative to AirPods Pro with built-in, adjustable ear hooks...
Tuesday February 4, 2025 10:26 am PST by Juli Clover
Apple today surprised us with a new Invites app, which is designed for planning events like birthday parties, vacations, and baby showers. We checked it out in our latest video to see how it works, what you can use it for, and to demonstrate all of the different features in the app.
Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos.
Invites is a standalone app that you can download...
Thats because the others haven't implemented their own version of 'Apple Tax'
I love simplistic analysis.
No, it's because Apple isn't flooding the market with 50+ phones every year. They aim for one design with a couple variations in color and storage space and that's it. It doesn't take a lot of imagination to figure out how that's a lot cheaper than Samsung's throw-everything-at-the-wall-and-see-what-sticks approach.
Thats because the others haven't implemented their own version of 'Apple Tax'
That's because others don't have phones that aren't sold on price only.
Seriously, what is this "Apple Tax" supposed to be? Apple offers products for a price that they decide. Nobody forces anyone to pay that price. If Apple sells products then it is because people think they are worth it.
No, it's because Apple isn't flooding the market with 50+ phones every year. They aim for one design with a couple variations in color and storage space and that's it. It doesn't take a lot of imagination to figure out how that's a lot cheaper than Samsung's throw-everything-at-the-wall-and-see-what-sticks approach.
and how is that bad? its just a different approach, not everyone needs a 300 Euro phone. im not necessarily fond of android or the samsung plastic crap but that doesnt mean their business strategy is bad. they have their high budget Galaxy and nexus phones for tech freaks as well as low budget phones for people like my mother.
both apple and samsung make enough money so why should i even care anyway ^^ having options is GREAT
oh and the anticipation for the Galaxy S III announcement here in germany is HUGE. its covered everywhere even with so little details out. something i used to only see with future iPhone gossip
No, it's because Apple isn't flooding the market with 50+ phones every year. They aim for one design with a couple variations in color and storage space and that's it. It doesn't take a lot of imagination to figure out how that's a lot cheaper than Samsung's throw-everything-at-the-wall-and-see-what-sticks approach.
I love how often the availability of choice is somehow a bad thing on these forums.
Seems to be working great for Samsung btw. I bet the Android manufacturers love that Apple doesn't want to compete in LTE/4g, in larger screen sizes, in physical keyboards, in huge batteries, etc.
having used an android phone and got the 4s i have to say i prefer apples products over all these android systems. I am not really interested in who is the market leader what i am interested in is a product that works is simple to use and not to much mucking around to find things and how to turn things of.
