Apple Closing on LG for Title of Third Largest Mobile Phone Vendor With 142% Growth

idc 2q11 phones
Research firm IDC today released results for global mobile phone sales for the second quarter of 2011, showing strong growth for Apple as it sits firmly in fourth place and closes quickly on LG in the race for third place among global phone vendors.

Apple maintained its number four position overall but closed the gap on Top 5 competitors thanks to another record unit shipment quarter. The company easily posted the highest growth rate of the worldwide leaders despite the fact that its flagship iPhone 4 is now more than a year old. The triple-digit shipment volume growth allowed Apple to more than double its share when compared to the same quarter last year. Apple’s ability to bring its smartphone momentum to developing economies, where it’s less successful, will help dictate the company’s smartphone fortunes in future.

Apple's share of the global market grew to 5.6% after hitting the 5% milestone last quarter, and grew up over 140% year-over-year against the backdrop of a market that grew by only 11.3% overall.

IDC within the next few days should be breaking down the data to reveal results for smartphones specifically, and while Apple has been reported to have passed Nokia to become the world's largest smartphone vendor, some analysts have suggested that Samsung may have ridden Android's popularity to even stronger growth that may have allowed it to surpass Apple last quarter.

Related Forum: iPhone

Popular Stories

iPhone 17 Pro 34ths Perspective

iPhone 17 Pro Launching Later This Year With These 10 New Features

Sunday March 23, 2025 10:00 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. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models as of March 2025: Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro models have a titanium frame, and the iPhone ...
iOS 18

iOS 18.4 Expected Next Week - Here Are the Release Notes

Friday March 28, 2025 2:01 pm PDT by
With the second release candidate of iOS 18.4 that Apple seeded out today, the company finally provided us with release notes that give a full rundown on what to expect. There's an Apple Vision Pro app, new Apple Intelligence features for notifications and additional language support, plus an Apple News Food feature for Apple News+ subscribers, and several updates that should improve the...
Magic Mouse Green

What to Expect From the Magic Mouse 3

Saturday March 29, 2025 10:15 am PDT by
Apple is reportedly working on a new Magic Mouse. Below, we recap what to expect. The two key rumors for the Magic Mouse 3 so far include a relocated charging port, along with a more ergonomic design. It was briefly rumored that the Magic Mouse 3 would also feature voice control, but that was misinterpreted information. Relocated Charging Port While the Magic Mouse switched from...
top stories 2025 03 29

Top Stories: WWDC 2025 Announced, iPhone 17 Pro and iOS 19 Rumors, and More

Saturday March 29, 2025 6:00 am PDT by
Apple's big developer event is a little over two months away, and rumors about what we can expect to see in Apple's next major operating system updates are becoming increasingly frequent. A public release of iOS 18.4 is also imminent with a number of updates and improvements, although we won't be getting the major Apple Intelligence Siri upgrades that had reportedly been planned for this...
Foldable iPhone 2023 Feature Homescreen

Six Things to Know About Apple's Upcoming Foldable iPhone

Friday March 28, 2025 3:54 pm PDT by
We've been hearing rumors about a foldable iPhone for almost a decade now, but it looks like we might finally see the device come to fruition in 2026. We're going to be waiting many more months for the foldable iPhone, but so far we're hearing good things. Apple wants to make it creaseless. It's taken Apple multiple years to design a foldable iPhone that it's satisfied with because Apple ...
iOS 19 visionOS UI Elements

Apple Codename Provides Clue About iOS 19's Rumored New Design

Sunday March 30, 2025 6:40 am PDT by
Multiple sources have claimed that iOS 19 will introduce a new design with more translucent buttons, menus, notification banners, and more, and there is now another clue that points towards this glass-like appearance. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman today said the new design project is codenamed "Solarium" internally. A solarium is a room with glass walls that allow in plenty of sunlight, so this...
Facebook Feature

Facebook's New iPhone App Feature Turns the Clock Back to 2007

Thursday March 27, 2025 1:59 pm PDT by
In the mid-to-late 2000s, Facebook was all about staying connected with friends and family. However, as the social media platform added new features and grew over time, that core experience began to get drowned out. That changes starting now, according to Meta, which today introduced a new feature that will "bring back the joy" of classic Facebook. Specifically, Meta has redesigned the...
Foldable iPhone 2023 Feature Homescreen

iPhone Foldable Display Said to Feature iPad-Style 4:3 Aspect Ratio

Friday March 28, 2025 3:44 am PDT by
Apple's upcoming "iPhone Fold" will feature a foldable screen with a 4:3 aspect ratio, according to a Chinese leaker who previously leaked the book-style device's display dimensions. The Weibo-based account Digital Chat Station claims that Apple will adopt a "roughly" 4:3 aspect ratio on the inner display in order to achieve consistency between the outer display, as well as to ensure parity...

Top Rated Comments

randomrazr Avatar
178 months ago
whats funny is apple is doing this with one phone, the iphone.

samsung, etc all have a variety of phones out there.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
winston1236 Avatar
178 months ago
all they have to do now is release a redesign for ip5 and they will continue the expansion
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
*LTD* Avatar
178 months ago
Who's ZTE?

Android low-end phone maker. And that's putting it lightly.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
SandynJosh Avatar
178 months ago
Why is the apple store down

Apple is adding the news that they just bought Barnes and Nobel. :)
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
santaliqueur Avatar
178 months ago
What's so special about 2nd last?

What's so special about being able to read?

You didn't really think there were only 6 companies in the world making phones, did you? The top company being named "Others"?
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
SandynJosh Avatar
178 months ago
...some analysts have suggested that Samsung may have ridden Android's popularity to even stronger growth that may have allowed it to surpass Apple last quarter.

I think Samsung may have ridden the "photocopy the Apple product look" to surpass Apple last quarter.

But it's fascinating that Apple in in 4th place with two of the three above them loosing altitude, while RIM is somewhere down in "other" and snagging power lines and tree limbs.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)