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Shipments of the iPhone 5 and iPad mini have helped close the market gap between Apple and Samsung in smart connected devices last quarter.
In the Smart Connective Device Tracker report by the International Data Corporation (IDC) released on Tuesday, the industry tracking firm noticed that sales of the iPad mini and iPhone 5 has boosted Apple’s shipment share to 20.3 per cent.
Samsung still holds the lead, with 21.2 per cent of the smart connected device share, but both companies experienced an increased percentage share for last quarter over their respective 20.8 per cent and 18.2 per cent shares for the whole of 2012.
Taking the top spot from Apple last year, Samsung became the world’s leading smart device manufacturer after shipping more smartphones and portable PCs in 2012 than Apple, with over 250 million units sold in total.
Apple still dominates the revenue share though, acquiring a 30.7 per cent stake in revenues for the fourth quarter of 2012. In comparison, Samsung only managed to pull in 20.4 per cent.
During the last quarter of 2012, worldwide shipments of all smart connected devices, which include desktop PCs, notebooks, tablets and smartphones, IDC estimates were around 378 million units with revenue figures coming in at more than $168 billion (£110 billion).
Looking forward to estimates for 2013, IDC predicts that tablet shipments will vastly exceed desktop PCs and by 2014 will have outsold portable PCs as well. In light of that, tablets sales are expected to reach unparalleled highs this year with 190 million shipments to be made, equalling a year-on-year growth of 48.7 per cent.
“In emerging markets, consumer spending typically starts with mobile phones and, in many cases, moves to tablets before PCs,” said Megha Saini, Research Analyst for IDC’s Worldwide Smart Connected Device Tracker. “The pressure on the PC market is significantly increasing and we can see longer replacement cycles coming into effect very soon and that, too, will put downward pressure on PC sales.”
IDC also predicts that the worldwide smart connected device market will only continue to grow, especially with new technology like Google Glass and a Samsung Smartwatch on the horizon. Unit sales could surpass 2.2 billion and revenues reach $814.3 billion (£537.4 billion) by the close of the year 2017.
Do you think the iPhone 5 and iPad mini are good enough products to rival the ever increasing gadget selection offered by Samsung? Is Apple innovative enough to reclaim its position as the smart device market leader? Give us your thoughts on the matter via the TrustedReviews Facebook and Twitter feeds or the comments below.
Via: BGR
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Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
