Samsung and Apple Continue to Dominate Smartphone Market, But iOS Market Share Falls

Gartner's quarterly Market Share Analysis: Mobile Phones, Worldwide report shows that Samsung and Apple continue to dominate the smartphone market, with more than 52% of the market between them, but that Android's market share grew dramatically year-on-year while iOS saw a decline.

Samsung's Q4 2012 smartphone sales totalled 64.5 million handsets, up 85.3% on the previous year, while Apple's sales reached 43.5 million, a 22.6% increase. However, with featurephones included in the picture, Apple lays in third place behind Samsung and Nokia, with a 9.2% market share.

gartner-salesThe dominance of Android meant that overall iOS market share fell from 23.6% in Q4 2011 to 20.9% a year later. Android increased its market share in the same period from 51.3% to a commanding 69.7%. The bulk of this growth was at the expense of Symbian and RIM, but some of it was from iOS.

gartner-platform
The figures are likely to fuel debate about Apple's pace of innovation, with iOS having changed far less dramatically than Android since the launch of each platform. While the Android platform is split across a range of manufacturers, giving it the benefit of being marketed by multiple companies, Samsung alone is responsible for 42.5% of Android sales.

With Samsung commanding over 42.5 percent of the Android market globally, and the next vendor at just 6 percent share, the Android brand is being overshadowed by Samsung’s brand with the Galaxy name nearly a synonym for Android phones in consumers’ mind share.

The report suggests that Apple's continued success may be more due to the halo effect of the brand, rather than the strength of the iOS platform itself.

The success of Apple and Samsung is based on the strength of their brands as much as their actual products. Their direct competitors, including those with comparable products, struggle to achieve the same brand appreciation among consumers, who, in a tough economic environment, go for cheaper products over brand.

Total worldwide mobile phone sales last year fell 1.7% to 1.75 billion, with the economy undoubtedly leading people to delay upgrades.

Related Forum: iPhone

Popular Stories

AirPods Pro 3 Mock Feature

AirPods Pro 3 Just Months Away – Here's What We Know

Friday April 18, 2025 5:16 am PDT by
Despite being more than two years old, Apple's AirPods Pro 2 still dominate the premium wireless‑earbud space, thanks to a potent mix of top‑tier audio, class‑leading noise cancellation, and Apple's habit of delivering major new features through software updates. With AirPods Pro 3 widely expected to arrive in 2025, prospective buyers now face a familiar dilemma: snap up the proven...
CarPlay Hero

Apple Releases Wireless CarPlay Fix

Wednesday April 16, 2025 11:28 am PDT by
If you have been experiencing issues with wireless CarPlay in your vehicle lately, it was likely due to a software bug that has now been fixed. Apple released iOS 18.4.1 today, and the update's release notes say it "addresses a rare issue that prevents wireless CarPlay connection in certain vehicles." If wireless CarPlay was acting up for you, updating your iPhone to iOS 18.4.1 should...
iphone 16 pro models 1

17 Reasons to Wait for the iPhone 17

Thursday April 17, 2025 4:12 am PDT by
Apple's iPhone development roadmap runs several years into the future and the company is continually working with suppliers on several successive iPhone models simultaneously, which is why we often get rumored features months ahead of launch. The iPhone 17 series is no different, and we already have a good idea of what to expect from Apple's 2025 smartphone lineup. If you skipped the iPhone...
Beyond iPhone 13 Better Triad

Apple's 20th Anniversary iPhone May Finally Go All Screen

Tuesday April 15, 2025 6:31 am PDT by
Apple is preparing a "bold" new iPhone Pro model for the iPhone's 20th anniversary in 2027, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. As part of what's being described as a "major shake-up," Apple is said to be developing a design that makes more extensive use of glass – and this could point directly to the display itself. Here's the case for Apple releasing a truly all-screen iPhone with no...
maxresdefault

iPhone 17 Pro Launching Later This Year With These 12 New Features

Sunday April 13, 2025 7:52 am PDT by
While the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are not expected to launch until September, there are already plenty of rumors about the devices. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models as of April 2025: Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and ...
iOS 19 Roundup Feature

iOS 19 Will Add These New Features to Your iPhone

Tuesday April 15, 2025 7:37 am PDT by
The first iOS 19 beta is less than two months away, and there are already a handful of new features that are expected with the update. Apple should release the first iOS 19 beta to developers immediately following the WWDC 2025 keynote, which is scheduled for Monday, June 9. Following beta testing, the update should be released to the general public in September. Below, we recap the key...
top stories 2025 04 19

Top Stories: iPhone 17 Pro Rumors, CarPlay Bug Fix, and More

Saturday April 19, 2025 6:00 am PDT by
This week saw rumor updates on the iPhone 17 Pro and next-generation Vision Pro, while a minor iOS 18.4.1 update delivered not just security fixes but also a fix for some CarPlay issues. We also looked ahead at what else is in Apple's pipeline for the rest of 2025 and even the 20th-anniversary iPhone coming in 2027, so read on below for all the details on these stories and more! iPhone 17 ...
Apple TV Plus Feature 2 Magenta and Blue

Apple TV+ Available at Significantly Lower Price Until Next Week

Friday April 18, 2025 11:42 am PDT by
Apple TV+ is currently available at a much lower price than usual, but time is running out if you want to take advantage of the offer. In the U.S., new and qualified returning customers can subscribe to Apple TV+ for just $2.99 per month, for three months. Afterwards, regular pricing of $9.99 per month applies. The offer is available in the Apple TV app, and at tv.apple.com, through April...

Top Rated Comments

AppleScruff1 Avatar
159 months ago
I don't get these type of conversations. It's like talking about how much market share Ferrari has -- it doesn't make sense.

Apple is like Ferrari.

Actually Apple is like Toyota, not exclusive at all. Kids have iPhones. You can buy them at WalMart Target, etc. iPhones are as common as can be. Ferrari is quite exclusive.
Score: 27 Votes (Like | Disagree)
AppleScruff1 Avatar
159 months ago
> Comparing *total* iPhone sales to total Android sales:
Comparing iPhone sales to sales of higher-end Android phones that actually compete with iPhone would be relevant. I'll bet the gap in sales would be a lot smaller.

There are lots of cheap Android phones being sold. Heck, you can still buy cheap phones with Android OS 2.3. These phone sales have no bearing on iPhone sales - they are being sold on price and are not a sale taken away from Apple.

There will always be a lot of buyers who buy based on price. Get used to it, people. Gnasher is right. It doesn't mean Apple is failing.
Why? You can buy an iPhone for .99. And it means just what it means, Apple's market share decreased regardless of how many phones they sold.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
bobenhaus Avatar
159 months ago
I don't get these type of conversations. It's like talking about how much market share Ferrari has -- it doesn't make sense.

Apple is like Ferrari.

Apple is not like Ferrari and shouldnt be comparing them at all. Pumping up the price on a device that could be sold at a 3rd or 1/2 the price is not comparible to Ferrari.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
slffl Avatar
159 months ago
The market share is falling not because people are switching from iOS to Android, or choosing Android over iOS for their first phone, it's because people are upgrading their feature phones, walking into their service providers store, and getting what they think is the most bang for the buck which equals a LARGE phone for cheap (they don't care about what OS is on it, or if their money is going to America or Korea).

Then they take it home and all they do is talk and text on it.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
kjs862 Avatar
159 months ago
I don't get these type of conversations. It's like talking about how much market share Ferrari has -- it doesn't make sense.

Apple is like Ferrari.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
gagaliya Avatar
159 months ago
I still don't see how android is stepping over IOS? These numbers are based on Apples one phone (iPhone) and all the cheaper phones that android is on.

Most people getting the cheaper phones is not choosing between IOS and android, they are just getting the cheaper phones. If Apple made NEW cheaper phones, then they would have a choice.

again false.

apple has cheaper phones at every price level starting at free just like android. All running the same ios.

Android and samsung is innovating at full speed and killing apple in those commercials. The only big thing came out of the iphone was a slighter bigger screen last year, their other big feature the map was a disaster and had a negative impact.

Just look at those commercials, when iphone first came it was a showstopper, now the best they can do is touting a "do not disturb" button and how the caller can hear your voice...during a phone call.

It's laughable.

Meanwhile samsung is killing it with their commercials touting nfs transfers, stylus doing all sorts of cool stuff, etc...

Apple stopped innovating on their iphone, or rather tried and failed. That's fact.

Many people including myself like iphone because it's simple and works out of box, but that will only carry you so far until a tipping point is reached where the features and innovations on the competitor is just too much to resist.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)