The number of smartphones shipped worldwide increased by 32.8% year-on-year to 155.5 million in the third quarter, according to new figures from ABI Research. However, total mobile handset shipments fell by 1.9% to 387.3 million units.
40.2% of all mobile phone shipments in Q3 2012 were smartphones, up from 39.3% in the previous quarter.
Samsung remained in the lead, shipping more than twice as many smartphones as second-place Apple. Meanwhile Nokia smartphone shipments fell 38% from the previous quarter, while year-on-year declines were evident at RIM (37%) and HTC (54%). The most dramatic increase in smartphone shipments came from ZTE, which saw figures up 168% year-on-year.
Michael Morgan, senior analyst at ABI Research, said “Samsung looks to be running away from the pack while Apple’s new product portfolio continues to eat into its decreasing gross margins. Apple will need to ship over 94 million smartphones in Q4 if it wants to match its 2011 shipment growth of 96 percent.”
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IDC and Strategy Analytics both have different perspectives: IDC has seen a 2.4% increase in handset shipments, while Strategy Analytics believes smartphone shipments were up 35%.