Apple Inc. (AAPL) and Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd ( KRX:005930), the world’s two biggest giants in smartphone segment, are now head-to-head in smart connected device shipments. According to a IDC’s recent report, in 2012, Samsung and Apple fought neck-to-neck in terms of smart connected device shipments. Here, smart connected devices comprise desktop PCs, Portable PCs, tablets and smartphones combined. Last year, smart connected device shipments surpassed 1 billion units figure, representing 29.1% Y/Y growth. In addition, in 2012, worldwide smart connected device market reached to a value of  $576.9 billion.
Undoubtedly, the shipments of entire smart connected devices were mainly driven by robust demand of tablets, which showed off 78.4% Y/Y growth in 2012, and surpassed 128 million units figure. Considering the fourth quarter of 2012 alone, the smart connected devices shipments reached to 378 million units figure, accounting for more than $168 billion in revenue. IDC’s latest prediction also claims that tablet shipments will surpass desktop PCs this year, while next year, the device (tablets) will surpass the shipments of portable PCs (laptops).
Apple Inc. Dominated Samsung In Smart Connected Device Revenue
More importantly, Samsung dominated Apple Inc. in terms of smart connected device shipments last year. The South Korean company succeeded to grab 21.2% of entire smart connected device market share, followed by Apple Inc. with 20.3% share. However, Apple Inc. was quite close to Samsung in terms of combined shipments of desktop PCs, Portable PCs, tablets and smartphones. While there’s a discussion about the revenue generation, the Cupertino-based company always leads over the Galaxy lineup maker. On the basis of revenue, with 30.7% market share, Apple Inc. once again made a lead over Samsung in 2012, which succeeded to hold just 20.4% of share.
IDC’s latest prediction says that in 2013, worldwide desktop PC shipments would drop by 4.3%, while portable PCs would continue to show a flat growth of 0.9%. Furthermore, tablet shipments would hit a record of 190 million units mark this year, representing 48.7% Y/Y growth. Interestingly, smartphone shipments will hit a whopping 918.5 million units figure, up 27.2% in comparison to the last year.
Smart Connected Device Shipments To Hit 2 Billion Units Mark In 2017
Last year, the shipments of smart connected device grew by 15.6% in mature markets, despite of a huge plunge in the PCs shipments. Over next five years, the growth in smart connected devices, especially tablets and smartphones, will mainly be driven by emerging markets. More importantly, tablet shipments are expected to mount up by a factor of 3 with a market valuation of $125 billion. While on the other side, shipments of smartphones would rise by two-folds, a valuation of $462 billion, over five next years.
Now, people in emerging markets are more likely to get their hands on low-priced or mid-range smartphones. On the other side, Apple Inc. has seen 400% growth in sales of iPhones in India over last three months ending February 2013. What does it indicate?Definitely, we could expect a robust demand of smart connected devices, especially smartphones and tablets, in emerging countries. Breaking out to an important fact, in 2017, worldwide smart connected device shipments would surpass 2.2 billion units, with a valuation of $814.3 billion.
