A new look back at mobile trends for 2012 from Millennial Media shows some significant gains for Samsung in particular, which has usurped the beleaguered HTC in terms of overall share of Android devices accessing apps using Millennial’s mobile ad platform. Samsung held 23 percent of impressions overall among Android devices in Q3 2011, but 46 percent in Q3 2012.
HTC was the leading player at the same time last year, but now it trails Samsung by 30 percentage points and sits in second place. The growth of Samsung reflects the success of its Galaxy S III, and also the Galaxy Note, both of which were strong performers in the smartphone market in 2012. The Galaxy S III sold over 30 million devices through November, covering five months on the market.
Other highlights from Millennial’s latest report, which include a year-end wrap-up of overall trends, show that the iPad mini has been a fast grower, rising 28 percent per day. Original iPad growth has not been dented by its rise, however, according to Millennial, suggesting cannibalization effects might not be as extreme as some predicted: original iPad impressions continue to grow at 35 times the volume of the iPad mini hits, the company says.
What else changed in 2012 in mobile? Millennial says that customers spend more time on their devices, and more advertising dollars are shifting to mobile campaigns, with some verticals experiencing especially high growth. The automotive industry grew the most on Millennial’s network, with a 318 percent spike vs. 2011 in spending. Travel, sports and education all saw over 200 percent increases in mobile ad budgets, too.
The trends for 2012 seem to suggest that there’s a lot to look forward to in 2013, especially for Samsung and its growing dominance of the Android platform. But can competitors like HTC rally and make a comeback in the new year? Samsung is likely to introduce strong successors to all of its current top-performers, including a Galaxy S IV and Galaxy Note III, but we’ll have to wait and see if an upset is in the cards.