Global mobile phone demand slows down in Q2 2012 according to Gartner, as WW sales decline by -2.3% Y-o-Y to reach 419 million units due to current economic woes and customers preferring to wait for high-profile device launches.
Declining feature phone demand also weakens the overall mobile market, even if smartphone sales grow by 42.7% Y-o-Y in the quarter.
Smartphones account for 36.7% of the total Q2 2012 mobile market.
"High-profile smartphone launches from key manufacturers such as the anticipated Apple iPhone 5, along with Chinese manufacturers pushing 3G and preparing for major device launches H2 2012, will drive the smartphone market upward. However, feature phones will continue to see pressure," Gartner says.
Samsung leads the Q2 2012 mobile market, with shipments reaching 90.4m units with 21.6% market share, up from 16.3% in Q2 2011. Boosting shipments are "record" Galaxy smartphone sales and Galaxy S3 demand exceeding Samsung's expectations.
Gartner says the Galaxy S3 is the "best-selling Android product in the quarter" (selling 10m units WW in 2 months) and could have been higher if not for product shortages.
Former leader Nokia follows in the general mobile device vendor rankings, with shipments reaching 83.4m units and 19.9% market share-- a -14.8% Y-o-Y decline. According to Gartner Nokia beats the competition (to a certain extent) in feature phones, but continues to struggle when it comes to smartphones.
Apple comes 3rd, with 6.9% market share and shipments reaching 28.9m units. The analyst reports iPhone demand is down by -12.6% Q-o-Q (if up by 47.4% Y-o-Y)-- and depending on the new iPhone launch date, might even experience a weaker-than-usual Q3 2012.
When it comes to smartphones, Samsung and Apple dominate the market by together taking nearly 50% smartphone market share. All other vendors are left with the remaining scraps, as no single vendor manages to take over 10% smartphone share in Q2 2012.
