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SA agrees: Apple now top smartphone vendor in the world with 140% growth

Updated Dec 19th, 2018 7:23PM EST
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BGR reported last week that Apple had passed Nokia in the second quarter of 2011 to become the world’s top smartphone vendor by volume. The Cupertino-based company had already been No. 1 in the world by profits for quite some time. On Friday, market analysis firm Strategy Analytics released its second-quarter smartphone shipment figures and reaffirmed Apple’s new position atop the market. Apple shipped 20.3 million smartphones last quarter, up more than 140% from the 8.4 million iPhones it shipped in the same quarter last year. The only company to show more impressive gains: Samsung. The South Korea-based vendor slid into the No. 2 spot by growing a remarkable 520% year-over-year to ship 19.2 million smartphones last quarter. Falling to No. 3 on the global market share list is Nokia, which shipped 16.7 smartphones in the second quarter of 2011, down from 23.8 million devices in the same quarter last year. Strategy Analytics reports global market share distribution in the June quarter at 18.5% for Apple, 17.5% for Samsung, 15.2% for Nokia and 48.9% for other manufacturers. The firm’s full press release follows below.

Strategy Analytics: Apple Becomes World’s Number One Smartphone Vendor in Q2 2011

BOSTON–(BUSINESS WIRE)–According to the latest research from Strategy Analytics, global smartphone shipments grew an impressive 76 percent annually to reach a record 110 million units in the second quarter of 2011. Both Apple and Samsung overtook long-time volume leader Nokia for the top two spots in our rankings.

Alex Spektor, Senior Analyst at Strategy Analytics, said, “Global smartphone shipments grew a healthy 76 percent annually to reach a record 110 million units in Q2 2011. We had previously reported on Apple becoming the largest smartphone vendor in terms of revenue and profits. Now, just four years after the release of the original iPhone, Apple has become the world’s largest smartphone vendor by volume with 18 percent market share. Apple’s growth remained strong as it expanded distribution worldwide, particularly in China and Asia.”

Neil Mawston, Director at Strategy Analytics, added, “Samsung overtook Nokia to become the world’s second largest smartphone vendor in Q2 2011. Samsung’s shipments grew a huge 520 percent annually, for 17 percent global smartphone market share. Samsung’s Galaxy portfolio has proven popular, especially the high-tier S2 Android model.”

Tom Kang, Director at Strategy Analytics, added, “Having become the first ever vendor to ship 100 million smartphones in a single year during 2010, long-time leader Nokia has slipped two places in our rankings in Q2 2011. The vendor’s 15 percent global smartphone market share is less than half of what it was just one year earlier, as the industry awaits Nokia’s pending transition to Windows Phone 7.”

Exhibit 1: Global Smartphone Vendor Shipments and Market Share in Q2 2011
Global Smartphone Vendor Shipments (Millions of Units) Q2 ’10 Q2 ’11
Apple 8.4 20.3
Samsung 3.1 19.2
Nokia 23.8 16.7
Others 27.1 53.8
Total 62.4 110.0
Global Smartphone Vendor Marketshare % Q2 ’10 Q2 ’11
Apple 13.5 % 18.5 %
Samsung 5.0 % 17.5 %
Nokia 38.1 % 15.2 %
Others 43.4 % 48.9 %
Total 100.0 % 100.0 %
Growth Year-over-Year % 50.4 % 76.3 %

The full report, Apple Becomes World’s No.1 Smartphone Vendor in Q2 2011, is published by the Strategy Analytics Wireless Smartphone Strategies (WSS) service, details of which can be found here: http://tinyurl.com/2cpmn32.

Zach Epstein
Zach Epstein Executive Editor

Zach Epstein has been the Executive Editor at BGR for more than 10 years. He manages BGR’s editorial team and ensures that best practices are adhered to. He also oversees the Ecommerce team and directs the daily flow of all content. Zach first joined BGR in 2007 as a Staff Writer covering business, technology, and entertainment.

His work has been quoted by countless top news organizations, and he was recently named one of the world's top 10 “power mobile influencers” by Forbes. Prior to BGR, Zach worked as an executive in marketing and business development with two private telcos.