According to a report released by the market research company Strategy Analytics on Thursday, global smartphone shipments increased both year-on-year and quarter-on-quarter in the third quarter of this year. Android smartphones now account for 81.3% of the global smartphone market, also showing growth compared to the previous quarter and the same period last year, while this growth came at the expense of declines in iOS and BlackBerry phones.
Strategy Analytics data shows that in the third quarter of 2013, global smartphone shipments reached 251.4 million units, surpassing the 229.6 million units shipped in the second quarter of this year, and representing a 45% increase from the 172.8 million units shipped in the third quarter of last year. Among these, smartphones running on Google's Android system accounted for 81.3% of global smartphone shipments, up from 79.5% in the previous quarter and 75% during the same period last year. In contrast, Apple's iOS smartphones' share dropped from 13.6% in the previous quarter to 13.4%, down from 15.6% in the third quarter of last year. Meanwhile, Windows Phone smartphone shipments reached 4.1%, up from 3.9% in the previous quarter and 2.1% in the third quarter of last year, maintaining its position as the third largest globally.
Global Smartphone Shipment Chart for the Third Quarter
The significant growth in global smartphone shipments in the third quarter of this year was mainly driven by strong demand for Android and Windows Phone devices in both developed and emerging markets, particularly in the European and Asian markets. Specifically, Android phone shipments reached 204.4 million units in the third quarter, up from 182.6 million units in the previous quarter and 129.6 million units in the same period last year. Apple's iOS smartphone shipments were 33.8 million units, up from 31.2 million units in the previous quarter and 26.9 million units in the same period last year. Windows Phone shipments reached 10.2 million units, up from 8.9 million units in the previous quarter and 3.7 million units in the same period last year. In the third quarter of this year, BlackBerry phone shipments reached 2.5 million units, significantly lower than the 7.4 million units shipped in the same period last year, with its global market share dropping from 4.3% in the same period last year to 1%. Other various types of smartphones shipped only 0.5 million units in the third quarter, much lower than the 5.2 million units shipped in the same period last year, with their market share falling from 3% in the same period last year to 0.2%.
The data indicates that Google's Android achieved a new high in its global smartphone market share, which was also at the expense of declining shares for Apple and BlackBerry. Additionally, Microsoft WP's share doubled, making WP the fastest-growing important smartphone platform globally.
However, according to Strategy Analytics, it will be difficult for Android to make further progress in terms of shipment share in the near future, especially in capturing more of Apple's share. This is mainly because Apple just launched the iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c, with the iPhone 5s already gaining significant popularity and being well-received in the market. It is expected that Apple will reclaim a larger market share in the fourth quarter.
In the third quarter of this year, the growth of Microsoft WP phones was almost entirely due to Nokia. Strategy Analytics claims that Microsoft may achieve small-scale growth in markets such as Japan, Korea, and Africa in the future.
Looking at the current situation, the fourth quarter is also highly anticipated by the industry. Can Google and Microsoft continue to grow in the global smartphone sector? How will Apple's new phones perform? All of this remains to be seen.