HAMPSHIRE, UK – Led by Samsung, mobile analyst firm Juniper Research estimates that the number of smartphone shipments exceeded 1.2 billion devices in 2014, representing a 29% year-over-year growth.
Samsung shipped an estimated 315 million smartphones, accounting for 25% of all smartphone shipments, however it also reported its first annual earnings decline in three years. The company witnessed another quarterly fall in shipments and market share, to just over 76 million in Q4 2014, representing a 3% decline, continues the research.
Meanwhile, Apple posted a record quarter of 74.5 million iPhone sales, representing quarter-over-quarter growth of 90% and year-over-year growth of 46% compared to Q4 2013. With the demand for iPhones driven by the 6 and 6 Plus models, the company sold more iPhones in China than in the U.S. for the first time ever. Despite closing in on Samsung in Q4, Apple had a market share of 15% for the full year in 2014.
In a separate report, Tablets, Phablets & Hybrids: Ecosystem Evolution, Vendor Landscape & Forecasts 2014-2019, Juniper notes that the reception of the iPhone 6 Plus has indicated a large potential for Apple phablets and that the device is expected to further accelerate the ‘Bigger Screen’ trend. However, potential releases from budget vendors could outpace their expansion and reduce Apple’s overall market share in the category over time. The report estimates that Apple will account for 30% of the Phablets (5.5”-6.9” screen) market in 2015.
Returning to smartphone shipments, Lenovo-Motorola combined is estimated to have shipped over 90 million smartphones in 2014, improving its market share to just over 7%, while Microsoft, meanwhile reported a 10.5 million Lumia shipments in Q4 2014, driven by low-cost models. Huawei improved its market share year-over-year, shipping over 70 million smartphones in 2014, with the Honor line of devices accounting for nearly 28% of the total.
