First ever: more than 1 billion smartphones sold

Samsung increases lead on Apple

The mythical bar of 1 billion phones got breached now that 1.004 billion phones were sold in 2013.
Sales grew 38.4 % compared to
2012 (725.3 million sales). Compared to 2011, smartphone sales have more
than doubled as 494.4 million smartphones were sold in 2011, according to IDC.

Samsung leads the pack with a 31.3 %
market share. It shipped 313.9 million smartphones (+ 42.9 %), which helped
increase its lead on the competitors ever so slightly. Apple ranks second with 153.4 million iPhones
(+ 12.9 %). Its market share dropped from 18.7 to 15.3 % though.

Huawei, LG and Lenovo
complete the top 5 with market shares of 4.9,
4.8 and 4.5 %. These three are powering forward at a rapid pace
though. Huawei sold 48.8 million smartphones (+ 67.5 %), LG sold 47.7 million
(+ 81.1 %) and Lenovo managed 45.5 million smartphone sales (+ 91.7 %, nearly
double its previous number).

Nokia still suffers

Smartphones make up 55.1 % of all mobile phones sold, an increase compared
to the 41.7 % this specific sector reached in 2012. Last year, 1.82
billion mobile phones were shipped, 4.8 % more than in 2012.

When both sectors (smartphones and regular cellphones) are put together, Nokia manages to hold onto its second place,
right between Samsung and Apple. It will however not be celebrating: It lost
nearly a quarter of its sales in 2013, arriving at 251 million phones sold. Its
market share went from 19.3 % to 13.8 %, which makes it the only one going down
in the top 5.

Research firm IDC believes there are two reasons for the maintained success
of smartphones: larger screens and low
prices. “Of the two, I have to say that low cost is the key difference
maker. […] Markets like China and India are quickly moving toward a point where
sub-$150 smartphones are the majority of shipments, bringing a solid computing
experience to the hands of many”, IDC’s Ramon Llamas said.