Apple, Number One Smartphone Vendor for the First Time Since 2012
IDC New Zealand: Apple, Number One Smartphone Vendor for the First Time Since 2012
AUCKLAND, 10th March 2017: Apple shipped the highest number of smartphones over the holiday season, according to IDC’s
recently published fourth quarter smartphone shipment results, tracked from October to December 2016.
Apple have not held the number one position since the first quarter of 2012.
Vendors shipped a record high volume of 672,000 smartphones during October to December 2016, up from 614,000 smartphones
shipped over the same period in in 2015. The top three vendors made up close to 80% of these shipments. Apple shipped
221,000 smartphones, Samsung fell to the number two position with 176,000 smartphone shipments, and Huawei closed the
number three gap significantly reaching 143,000 smartphone shipments.
Chayse Gorton, Client Device Analyst for IDC New Zealand, believes there are three key reasons contributing to Apples
fourth quarter performance in the market.
Apple overcame stock constraints observed after the release of the iPhone 7 models late in the fourth quarter. Gorton
says, "even with some consumers expected to be holding off upgrading their smartphone until the release of the 10th
anniversary edition iPhone, forecasted in late 2017, the demand for iPhone 7 has been stronger than anticipated”.
Despite looking somewhat similar to the iPhone 6s, updated specifications were enough to entice many consumers to
upgrade their Apple smartphone. Gorton suggests, "it's hard to say with confidence that a single feature drove customers
to upgrade, such as increased durability", rather he suggests "it is likely a combination of improvements leading to
consumers perceiving the iPhone 7 models as superior".
Publicity issues relating to competing vendors enticed a portion of consumers to make the switch to Apple. Samsung's
battery cell issues in its recently released Note 7 smartphones, and the subsequent recall, not only led the devices to
be excluded from IDC's tracker, but also to some consumers to question their loyalty to the vendor.
2016 was an exciting year, with the overall smartphone market growing 10% year on year, and despite fourth quarter
vendor rankings, Samsung holding off Apple to retain the number one position for the year. Overall for 2016, Samsung
held 32% share, Apple held 27% share, and Huawei held 14% share.
With Apple successfully winning a quarter for the first time in close to five years, and Huawei closing the gap in third
place, it is safe to say the smartphone vendor battleground is shaping up for an interesting year.
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