Apple's smartphone marketshare continues to ease downward despite record sales for the company's latest handsets, while rival Samsung's share of the Android ecosystem is being squeezed in key markets, according to new analysis covering the fourth quarter of 2013.
The launch of the iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c helped propel Apple to a market leading 42 percent of smartphones owned in the U.S. in the fourth quarter of 2013, leading Samsung's 26 percent share, according to the latest data from the NPD Group.
Apple's share of the mobile phone market is growing, but it still remains below 10 percent, even as Apple and its development community rake in profits from an actively engaged user base. That led analyst Charlie Wolf on Thursday to raise the question: Does market share matter?
The mid-range iPhone 5c has proven much more popular than its flagship sibling among smartphone shoppers with below-median incomes, and has attracted large numbers of first-time Apple buyers who are largely switching from Android devices, new data indicates.
Apple's iPhone shipments increased by 23 percent over the same period last year, but the company's share of the worldwide smartphone market still slipped as competition, particularly from China, grew at a faster rate, according to a new industry report.
The latest smartphone statistics from research firm comScore were published today, revealing Apple and Samsung to be the only two top-five manufacturers to show growth in the U.S. market.
With sales of "just" 33.8 million iPhones, Apple earned more than Samsung's entire mobile unit (which includes PCs, netbooks and tablets) plus the mobile phone hardware divisions of LG, Nokia, Huawei, Lenovo and Motorola, too.
Newly released data shows that the iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c already account for more than 5 percent of all iPhones in use, while the mid-range 5c has seen the highest share of adoption thus far in the U.S.
Smartphones are now the predominant type of cellular phone in the United States, accounting for more than half according to a new poll, while Apple's iPhone leads all other devices among smartphone owners.
The iPhone has kept Apple in the number one spot among manufacturers for the U.S. smartphone market yet again, with Apple's bestselling device actually growing its share from the previous quarter.
Apple's iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch are three of the top four mobile devices in use worldwide, accounting for nearly 40 percent of all mobile ad impressions, according to new figures out from Millennial Media.
Apple's iOS has widened its lead over Google's Android in terms of mobile Web traffic share in the U.S., reaching 65 percent of the market, according to new data.
Apple's iPhone continues to expand on its lead as the most popular smartphone in the U.S., taking more than 40 percent of the American market, according to new figures from Kantar.
Despite moving 3 million more iPhones in the second quarter of 2013 than in the same period last year, Apple's share of the overall smartphone market shank more than 4 percent, while total smartphones outsold feature phones for the first time worldwide, according to new data from research firm Gartner.
Apple and Samsung continue to tower over all other smartphone manufacturers, according to a new study, but a number of Chinese vendors are making some headway as they have home-field advantage in the world's most populous nation.
Apple remains the most profitable company in the smartphone industry, though its lead over rival Samsung is shrinking, as just 3 percentage points separated the two companies during the second quarter of calendar 2013.
New mobile Web browsing data shows that iOS users remain far more active on the Internet than their Android counterparts, with Apple's devices accounting for nearly two-thirds of all domestic mobile website traffic.
Evidence continues to mount that the market for high-end smartphones in the U.S. may have reached a saturation point, meaning that a mid-range iPhone offering from Apple could be the best way for the Cupertino company to ensure future growth.
Apple's iPhone increased its lead in the United States smartphone market through the end of May, inching toward a 40 percent share, while the other major competitors outside of Samsung lost share.
Apple's iPhone may hold the top spot among smartphones in the Japanese market, but a recent push by Sony and a major carrier has its Xperia handsets rushing up the sales charts.
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Shane Cole
Neil Hughes
AppleInsider Staff
Daniel Eran Dilger
Kevin Bostic
Michael Harper
