Samsung shipped more than double the number of smartphones as Apple did in the third quarter.
This is according to the latest data from ABI Research, which also shows Samsung has retained the lead position in both handset and smartphone shipments for the quarter.
While worldwide handset shipments decreased 1.9% year-on-year to 387.3 million units in the third quarter, smartphone shipments increased 32.8% year-on-year, to 155.5 million, over the same period. Smartphone shipments accounted for 40.2% of all handset shipments for the quarter.
Senior analyst Michael Morgan says: "Samsung looks to be running away from the pack while Apple's new product portfolio continues to eat into its decreasing gross margins. Apple will need to ship over 94 million smartphones in Q4 if it wants to match its 2011 shipment growth of 96%."
Samsung shipped a total of 55.5 million smartphones in the third quarter, compared to Apple's 26.9 million iPhones. It has, however, been noted that while Samsung and Apple have become the global smartphone heavyweights, they both employ different approaches to the market.
These different approaches see Samsung covering many price segments in many countries, while Apple focuses on selling only the iPhone in key markets. As both companies expand their footprints, they are expected to come into even greater conflict.
According to ABI Research, Nokia will struggle to retain a position in the top 10 smartphone OEMs in the fourth quarter, given the expected influx of devices from different manufacturers running Windows Phone 8.
In the third quarter, Nokia smartphone shipments were down 38% from the second quarter of 2012, at 6.3 million units. This decline is attributed to the fact that the current line of Lumia smartphones cannot be upgraded to the full Windows Phone 8 OS.
BlackBerry maker Research In Motion and HTC also both recorded declines in shipments of 37.2% and 54.6%, respectively. ABI Research advises that as the overall handset market shifts to a smartphone reality, OEMs will need to consider "following Samsung's lead" in offering a range of smartphone products at ever lower price points to maintain market share growth.
In the premium smartphone segment, it remains a two-horse race between Samsung and Apple. Earlier this year, it was reported that Samsung and Apple together accounted for 55% of global smartphone shipments, and 90% of the market's profits.
ABI's senior practice director Jeff Orr says: "The strain of rapid growth makes Apple appear to be running out of room at the high end. The company's warning of additional margin pressures with its new device line-up makes it increasingly difficult for Apple to move downstream to the rapidly growing low-cost smartphone market."
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