A report by a Strategy Analytics research firm has revealed that Apple has now become the number 1 mobile phone vendor in the United States for the last quarter of 2012, snatching the throne from Samsung. While Samsung sold just 16.8 million smartphones, Apple overtook the company by selling 17.7 million iPhones last quarter.
On analyzing the report closely, we can also learn that the Samsung’s sales included not the smartphones alone, but also some of their feature phones which are in the US market. Apple now holds 34% market share in the US for the smartphones, and is now the number one mobile phone vendor of the country.
While the company is used to holding thrones like the world’s most valuable company, and the world’s most innovative company, it was never the number one mobile phone vendor. But this is the first time Apple has ever become the number one mobile phone vendor in the US, beating Samsung. The analyst, Neil Mawston thinks that there’s still hope for Samsung to get back to the throne. Here’s what he said in the report:
“Samsung shipped 16.8 million mobile phones in the United States, for 32 percent share, during Q4 2012. This was a good performance from Samsung, as its market share rose 5 points from 27 percent a year earlier, but it was not enough to hold off a surging Apple. Samsung had been the number one mobile phone vendor in the US since 2008, and it will surely be keen to recapture that title in 2013 by launching improved new models such as the rumored Galaxy S4.”
As Mawston says, we will have to wait until the Samsung Galaxy S4 comes out. But we’re skeptical about the release anytime soon, since Samsung is not expected to do anything big during this year’s MWC 2013.