Samsung (005930) has gone from laughable “copycat” to mainstream media darling in no time at all thanks to its meteoric rise, and the company isn’t expected to relinquish its lead anytime soon. In fact, market research firm IHS iSuppli believes the vendor’s Galaxy S 4 will be a smash hit that helps Samsung double its lead over the next closest competitor in 2013.
According to the firm, Samsung handsets accounted for 29% of all cell phones sold in 2012 as Nokia (NOK) slid into the No.2 spot with a 24% share of the market. In 2013, IHS sees Samsung’s lead doubling to 11 percentage points from five points, though it did not specify exactly how much of the market it expects Samsung to control in 2013.
“Combined with a massive worldwide rollout through almost every operator, the lifestyle focus of the S4 will help drive Samsung’s market share sharply in 2013,” IHS analyst Ian Fogg said.
Samsung unveiled the Galaxy S 4 last week and in an early preview, BGR called it the Android smartphone by which all others will be judged this year.
