The global smart connected device market is growing at a stunning rate, with Samsung leading the vendor market and Apple in second place, according to a new report by IDC.
The market for personal computers, tablets and smartphones grew more than 27% year-over-year in the third quarter of 2012 and reached a record 303.6 million units shipped valued at $140.4 billion, IDC said. Fourth quarter growth, driven by tablets and smartphones, is expected to be even bigger: as many as 362 million units are expected to ship, with a market value of $169.2 billion. Tablet shipments are expected to be up 55.8% over the same quarter in 2011, and IDC projected that smartphone shipments will increase 39.5% year-over-year.
“Both consumers and business workers are finding the need for multiple ‘smart’ devices and we expect that trend to grow for several years, especially in more developed regions,” said Bob O’Donnell, program VP of clients and displays for IDC. “The advent of cloud-based services is enabling people to seamlessly move from device to device, which encourages the purchase and usage of different devices for different situations.”
IDC said that Samsung maintained its position as the top smart device vendor in the third quarter, with 21.8% market share of shipments. No. 2 Apple accounted for 15.5% of the shipments during the quarter but led all vendors in the value of their shipments, with a total of $34.1 billion and an average selling price of $744 across the categories of PCs, tablets and smartphones.
“The battle between Samsung and Apple at the top of the smart connected device space is stronger than ever,” said Ryan Reith, program manager for IDC’s Worldwide Mobile Device Trackers. “Both vendors compete at the top of the tablet and smartphone markets. However, the difference in their collective ASPs is a telling sign of different market approaches. The fact that Apple’s ASP is $310 higher than Samsung’s with just over 20 million fewer shipments in the quarter speaks volumes about the premium product line that Apple sells.”
