A report last week predicted that Samsung shipped more smartphones than Apple in Q3, but now it’s confirmed. Samsung is now the number one smartphone vendor in the world when measured by global shipments, which is a title effectively stolen from Apple.
During Q3 2011, Samsung shipped approximately 27.8 million smartphones, while Apple was in second place with 17.1 million shipments. Shortly after Apple announced this, the stock plummeted due to analysts’ disappointment that Apple didn’t reach 20 million. Nokia managed a close third with 16.8 million shipments, while all others combined made up 55.3 million. That totals 117 million smartphones shipped in Q3 – a new all-time record for the mobile industry.
As you might imagine, Samsung also topped in global smartphone vendor market share with nearly a quarter of the entire market in its hands — 23.8 percent to be exact. Following that is Apple and Nokia with 14.6 percent and 14.4 percent, respectively. All the rest account for 47.3 percent.
Samsung has become a major player in the smartphone game within a reasonably short amount of time. Not too long ago, CTIA announced there are more wireless devices in use than the entire population of the United States. Between ordinary cell phones and smartphones, Samsung’s contributions to the mix are quite prominent. Are you packing a Samsung phone? How do you like it?