The battle’s been raging between Samsung and Apple for global smartphone domination, but according to the latest numbers out of Strategy Analytics, Samsung has extended its lead over rival manufacturers to capture a 30 percent marketshare worldwide.
According to the research firm, Samsung’s 213 million smartphones shipped over the course of 2012 sets a record for most units shipped by a smartphone vendor in a single year. The previous record holder was Nokia, which shipped 100.1 million units in 2010.
Samsung’s ability to deliver both on the high-end (with the Galaxy S III and Galaxy Note II) and on the low-end with models like the Galaxy Y made the Korean firm nearly impossible to beat. In fact, Samsung sold more smartphones this year than Apple and Nokia combined.
Apple continued to see growth, despite rumors that iPhone 5 part production cutbacks were a sign of low demand, shipping 135.8 million smartphones worldwide, capturing a marketshare of 19 percent globally. That represents 46 percent annual growth in units shipped, however it doesn’t seem to have done much for Apple’s market share which was at a steady 19 percent in 2011, as well.
Samsung and Apple combined shipped over half of all smartphones that went out over the course of the year.
Nokia managed to hang on to its third place position, shipping 35 million smartphones in 2012. However, the Finnish phone giant’s market share dipped from 16 percent last year to a mere five percent this year. Hopefully the company’s partnership with Microsoft and the budding Lumia line can help in plugging up that leak.
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