For the first time in the history of cell phones, smartphone sales have exceeded those of feature phones, according to new quarterly sales numbers released today by Gartner.
As it turns out, though, a rising tide does not lift all boats equally, with Android continuing to cement its dominance, carried aloft by Samsung’s sales.
Samsung’s smartphone market share surged up 2 percent over Q2 2012, with the Korean-based company selling 71.4 million units in the quarter. Total Android market share, in turn, grew 14.8 percent year over year.
Apple sold nearly 32 million iPhones last quarter, about three million more than it did in the same period last year, but its OEM market share fell 4.6 percent year-over-year. Gartner noted that the average sale price of an iPhone has dropped in the last quarter, indicating that people are buying the reduced-price iPhone 4 and 4S rather than springing for a new iPhone 5. Consumers may be avoiding the iPhone 5 because of rumors that Apple will be announcing a new iPhone in September.
If the rumors are to be believed, Apple may be launching a lower-cost version of the iPhone soon, which could help them tap into markets that are looking for a lower-priced phone.
There’s a tiny glimmer of hope for Microsoft in all this data too.
Sales of Windows Phone-powered smartphones were up by more than three million units over Q2 2012, growing by seven tenths of a percent, and finally putting Windows Phone ahead of BlackBerry. Sales of Nokia’s Lumia line of phones grew 112.7 percent, which is also good news for Microsoft. Whether or not that growth will accelerate, especially in light of the announcement of the new Lumia 1020, remains to be seen.
