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It’s time to take quick a trip overseas to Europe, where Android appears to be dominating in full force. According to a recent report by International Data Corporation (IDC), Android continues to steal market share, while Apple loses it.
In Q1, 2013 Android collected a respectable 69% market share, which was a significant boost compared to the same period last year in which it held just 55% of the market. Adversely, Apple slipped from 25% in Q1, 2012 down to 20% in Q1, 2013. That being said, Apple still blows Windows Phone out of the water with its 6% market share, a gain of 2% from last year.
Of course, even before you compare the smartphone sales numbers it’s pretty obvious how this is going to go down- with Samsung at the top. Indeed, Samsung is the leader with 19.9 million smartphones shipped, which accounts for nearly 46% of the entire market. Apple is in second with iPhone shipments at 6.2 million, roughly 14% of the market. Nokia is in third, hot on the heels of Apple with 6.1 million smartphones shipped.
The market is slowing down overall, but that’s no surprise really as there seems to be less flagship devices releasing this year. IDC reports that this is due to an overall market saturation, because most users already have a smartphone.
“We are now entering the second wave of smartphone adoption in the region. The first wave was driven by those users looking for devices that would meet their mobility needs. They did look for the best devices in terms of performance and user experience, and more importantly, they were able to afford and pay a premium to get a premium experience. We are now entering the second wave of smartphone adoption, which will be driven by those users with no need for a smartphone,” IDC mobile device research head Francisco Jeronimo said.
All in all, there’s really nothing surprising about these numbers. Wouldn’t you agree?
Samsung continues to steal the spotlight, Android is taking solid control of the market, and Nokia is slowly gaining traction. It really isn’t all that different from the scenario playing out back here in the States.