Smartphones outsell feature phones for first time, while Apple's iPhone loses market share - Gartner
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.
Samsung was the chief beneficiary of Apple's decline, according to the new data published on Wednesday, with the Korean electronics giant capturing 31.7 percent of the market. Apple, meanwhile, conceded 4.6 percentage points from the same period a year ago, securing 14.2 percent of smartphone sales to end users, Gartner said.
LG Electronics, another Korean conglomerate, and Chinese companies Lenovo and ZTE also posted gains, taking 5.1 percent, 4.7 percent, and 4.3 percent, respectively.
Among mobile operating systems, the Asian companies' advances pushed Google's Android to a commanding 79 percent market share among smartphones sold, followed by 14.2 percent for iOS, 3.3 percent for Microsoft's Windows Phone, and 2.7 percent for BlackBerry OS. Samsung's nascent Bada OS and Nokia's formerly dominant Symbian rounded out the top 5 with less than a percent of the market combined.
The report also suggested that brisk sales of the three-year-old iPhone 4 were responsible for a "significant" drop in the iPhone's average selling price in the second quarter, cautioning that a new low-cost model, rumored to be dubbed the "iPhone 5C," may exacerbate the trend.
"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," Gartner analyst Rashul Gupta said. "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."
Apple, however, did see an increase in the company's overall mobile phone market share, from 6.9 percent in the second quarter of 2012 to 7.3 percent in the same period of calendar 2013. The uptick appeared to come chiefly at Nokia's expense, with the Finnish company's share dropping nearly 6 percent thanks to slackening sales of feature phones.
The data released on Wednesday shows that Apple's share of the worldwide smartphone market has continued to slide throughout 2013. Data for the year's first quarter released by Gartner in May showed that Apple had fallen from 22.5 percent of sales to end users in 2012 to 18.2 percent in 2013.
Then, too, Apple's losses were largely the benefit of rival Samsung, which grew from a 27.6 percent market share in the first quarter of 2012 to 30.8 percent in the same three-month period in 2013.
Samsung was the chief beneficiary of Apple's decline, according to the new data published on Wednesday, with the Korean electronics giant capturing 31.7 percent of the market. Apple, meanwhile, conceded 4.6 percentage points from the same period a year ago, securing 14.2 percent of smartphone sales to end users, Gartner said.
LG Electronics, another Korean conglomerate, and Chinese companies Lenovo and ZTE also posted gains, taking 5.1 percent, 4.7 percent, and 4.3 percent, respectively.
Though iPhone sales grew year over year, Apple's smartphone hasn't been growing as fast as the rest of the market, according to Gartner.
Among mobile operating systems, the Asian companies' advances pushed Google's Android to a commanding 79 percent market share among smartphones sold, followed by 14.2 percent for iOS, 3.3 percent for Microsoft's Windows Phone, and 2.7 percent for BlackBerry OS. Samsung's nascent Bada OS and Nokia's formerly dominant Symbian rounded out the top 5 with less than a percent of the market combined.
The report also suggested that brisk sales of the three-year-old iPhone 4 were responsible for a "significant" drop in the iPhone's average selling price in the second quarter, cautioning that a new low-cost model, rumored to be dubbed the "iPhone 5C," may exacerbate the trend.
"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," Gartner analyst Rashul Gupta said. "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."
Apple, however, did see an increase in the company's overall mobile phone market share, from 6.9 percent in the second quarter of 2012 to 7.3 percent in the same period of calendar 2013. The uptick appeared to come chiefly at Nokia's expense, with the Finnish company's share dropping nearly 6 percent thanks to slackening sales of feature phones.
The data released on Wednesday shows that Apple's share of the worldwide smartphone market has continued to slide throughout 2013. Data for the year's first quarter released by Gartner in May showed that Apple had fallen from 22.5 percent of sales to end users in 2012 to 18.2 percent in 2013.
Then, too, Apple's losses were largely the benefit of rival Samsung, which grew from a 27.6 percent market share in the first quarter of 2012 to 30.8 percent in the same three-month period in 2013.
Comments
You know, you guys can continue to defend Cook all you want, but as Apple loses marketshare, so too will it eventually lose revenue. It's time for Cook to innovate or get out.
Originally Posted by ruel24
You know, you guys can continue to defend Cook all you want, but as Apple loses marketshare, so too will it eventually lose revenue. It's time for Cook to innovate or get out.
Shut up and go away.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ruel24
You know, you guys can continue to defend Cook all you want, but as Apple loses marketshare, so too will it eventually lose revenue.
You can keep on losing market share and still have revenues rise you know? Innumeracy strikes again!
Note that Apple does better with second-time smartphone buyers than first-time. Thus, Apple doesn't need the entry market.
Quote:
Originally Posted by sog35
paid by Samsung?
These stats are USELESS. You need to compare Apple's marketshare in the HIGH END smartphone segment only ($500-$700). In that segment Apple is dominating. Comparing a $50 Chinese crap 'smartphone' that can barely load Google.com to a premium $600 phone is plain stupid and lazy.
I have to agree. You HAVE to compare Apples to....well... Apple copies. It's pointless to compare Apples to all the fruits in the world, beginning with tiniest berries ending with biggest watermelons.
Lol! And replace him with who exactly?
No mention at all about whether customers went in seeking a smartphone or they just bought whatever the sales staff pushed on them. God, spare us from these pig-ignorant, insight-free analyst write-ups.
Not mention that markets hare is being defined comparing apples and pears.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ruel24
You know, you guys can continue to defend Cook all you want, but as Apple loses marketshare, so too will it eventually lose revenue. It's time for Cook to innovate or get out.
I hate giving someone who doesn't understand the way a company works any credit for posts but Cook is one person in a large company. Removing him won't do anything because the company (Apple) has product plans in line a couple years in advance. Cook has done a great job keeping Apple financially secure. This started before he took over Steve Job's position. Steve Jobs was a visionary but he absolutely needed help form others to implement his vision. Those people are still at Apple and are still creating better products. Innovation is a stock market buzz word used to either sell or buy stock. It rarely has anything to do with the actual success of a company. Someone can innovate and produce a product that doesn't sell much, it's still called innovation. Apple is selling products into an user environment, they're aren't selling static products. Look at what Samsung is selling. They're selling a bunch of individual products dependent on the environment of others. Many people only look for what's the least expensive item in a store without admitting they'll buy another cheap item very soon. They refuse to add up the similar items they buy each year. Apple sells a very good product environment that doesn't need to be purchased every couple months.
I'd like to hear from Gartner home many repeat customers of the same type of phone in the same year each company has. I bet Samsung would average two to three times as many purchases a Apple customers because their phones don't last or don't do what they thought they would. Of course, someone would spin this as repeat customers but I see it as unsatisfied customers.
Of course Apple's marketshare is going down.. they are going to be releasing two new phones in what, 2-4 weeks? Nobody in their right mind would buy an iPhone right now. In fact, people probably have already sold their old iPhones and bought some cheap Android POS until this new one comes out.
Quote:
The report also suggested that brisk sales of the three-year-old iPhone 4 were responsible for a "significant" drop in the iPhone's average selling price in the second quarter, cautioning that a new low-cost model, rumored to be dubbed the "iPhone 5C," may exacerbate the trend.
The average selling price is a complete bogus stat. If Apple keeps its margins across market segments a lower average selling price wont mean anything. This is why lower segments will have lower cost casings.
Those stats are in line with IDC and shows the importance for Apple to enter more market segments if it want to continu to growth and to avoid painting itself into a niche market, which could be harmfull to the ecosystem.
Quote:
Originally Posted by tundraboy
You can keep on losing market share and still have revenues rise you know? Innumeracy strikes again!
At some point people will realize they are getting rip off and go else where. Market shares matters to some degree.
'Worldwide' is such a useless metric. I'd like to know the shares (and growth rates) broken down by: US, EU, China, India, Japan, Rest of the World.
Until Apple has a viable, profitable, low-priced product, it is pointless to compare it to others whose sales are dominated by low-end, low-margin products sold in high volume in low-income countries.
There's more detail at Gartner
http://www.gartner.com/newsroom/id/2573415
Gain market share of what? Why on earth would Apple want to sell into those cheap low end markets? Just to please idiot journalists and analysts who group disparate items together?