Worldwide mobile phone sales to end-users totalled 435-million units in the second quarter of 2013, an increase of 3,6% from the same period last year, according to Gartner – and smartphone sales overtook feature phones for the first time.
Smartphone sales to end-users reached 225-million units, up 46,5% from the second quarter of 2012. Sales of feature phones to end-users totalled 210-million units and declined 21% year-over-year.
“Smartphones accounted for 51,8% of mobile phone sales in the second quarter of 2013, resulting in smartphone sales surpassing feature phone sales for the first time,” says Anshul Gupta, principal research analyst at Gartner.
Asia/Pacific, Latin America and Eastern Europe exhibited the highest smartphone growth rates of 74,1%, 55,7% and 31,6% respectively, as smartphone sales grew in all regions.
Samsung maintained the number one position in the global smartphone market, as its share of smartphone sales reached 31,7%, up from 29,7% in the second quarter of 2012. Apple’s smartphone sales reached 32-million units in the second quarter of 2013, up 102% from a year ago. They are followed by LG, Lenovo and ZTE.
In the smartphone operating system (OS) market, Microsoft overtook BlackBerry for the first time, taking the number three spot with 3,3% market share in the second quarter of 2013.
“While Microsoft has managed to increase share and volume in the quarter, Microsoft should continue to focus on growing interest from app developers to help grow its appeal among users,” says Gupta. Android continued to increase its lead, garnering 79% of the market in the second quarter.
iOS was second, with BlackBerry fourth, followed by Bada and Symbian.
Samsung remained in the number one position in the overall mobile phone market, with sales to end-users growing 19% in the second quarter of 2013.
“We see demand in the premium smartphone market come mainly from the lower end of this segment in the $400-and-below ASP mark. It will be critical for Samsung to step up its game in the mid-tier and also be more aggressive in emerging markets. Innovation cannot be limited to the high end,” says Gupta.
Sowing demand of feature phone sales across many markets worldwide, and fierce competition in the smartphone segment, affected Nokia’s mobile phone sales in the second quarter of 2013. Nokia’s mobile phone sales totalled 61-million units, down from 83-million units a year ago.
Nokia’s Lumia sales grew 112.7% in the second quarter of 2013 thanks to its expanded Lumia portfolio, which now include Lumia 520 and Lumia 720.
“With the recent announcement of the Lumia 1020, Nokia has built a wide portfolio of devices at multiple price points, which should boost Lumia sales in the second half of 2013,” says Gupta. “However, Nokia is facing tough competition from Android devices, especially from regional and Chinese manufacturers which are more aggressive in terms of price points.”
While sales continued to grow, Apple faced a significant drop in the ASP of its smartphones. Despite the iPhone 5 being the most popular model, its ASP declined to the lowest figure registered by Apple since the iPhone’s launch in 2007. The ASP reduction is due to strong sales of the iPhone 4, which is sold at a strongly discounted price.
“While Apple’s ASP demonstrates the need for a new flagship model, it is risky for Apple to introduce a new lower-priced model too,” says Gupta.
“Although the possible new lower-priced device may be priced similarly to the iPhone 4 at $300 to $400, the potential for cannibalization will be much greater than what is seen today with the iPhone 4. Despite being seen as the less expensive sibling of the flagship product, it would represent a new device with the hype of the marketing associated with it.”
Lenovo’s mobile phone sales grew 60.6% to reach 11-million units in the second quarter of 2013. Lenovo’s quarter performance was bolstered by smartphone sales. Its smartphone sales grew 144% year-over-year and helped it rise to the number spot in the worldwide smartphone market for the first time. Lenovo continues to rely heavily on its home market in China.