Figures from the International Data Corporation (IDC) show annual smartphone shipments passing the milestone of one billion units in 2013. A new report from the market intelligence company shows worldwide smartphone shipments reaching 1,004.2 million smartphones in 2013, up 38.4% from the 2012 total of 725.3 million units.
Smartphone shipments in 2011 were 494.4 million units, which means these shipments have doubled in the past two years.
In total, 1,821.8 million mobile phones were shipped around the world last year, up 4.8% year-on-year. Smartphones accounted for 55.1% of all mobile devices in 2013, up from 41.7% in 2012.
Ryan Reith, Program Director with IDC’s Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker, said “Among the top trends driving smartphone growth are large screen devices and low cost. Of the two, I have to say that low cost is the key difference maker. Cheap devices are not the attractive segment that normally grabs headlines, but IDC data shows this is the portion of the market that is driving volume. 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.”
Strategy Analytics has published similar figures showing smartphone shipments at just under a billion for 2013. It’s calculated that 990 million smartphones were shipped last year, up from 700.1 million in 2012.
IDC: Top five smartphone vendors, shipments, and market share, 2013
| Vendor |
2013 shipments (million) |
2013 share |
2012 shipments (million) |
2012 share |
Year-on-year change |
| Samsung |
313.9 |
31.3% |
219.7 |
30.3% |
42.9% |
| Apple |
153.4 |
15.3% |
135.9 |
18.7% |
12.9% |
| Huawei |
48.8 |
4.9% |
29.1 |
4.0% |
67.5% |
| LG |
47.7 |
4.8% |
26.3 |
3.6% |
81.1% |
| Lenovo |
45.5 |
4.5% |
23.7 |
3.3% |
91.7% |
| Others |
394.9 |
39.3% |
290.5 |
40.1% |
35.9% |
| Total |
1004.2 |
|
725.3 |
|
38.4% |
[IDC Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker]