Samsung is set to report smartphone shipments of well over 20 million when it reports Q3 numbers next week, a tally that will establish it as the world’s largest smartphone vendor – at least until Apple can begin to count sales of its new iPhone 4S.
The
Wall Street Journal reports that the 20 million figure would top Apple’s latest quarterly iPhone sales of 17.1 million and Nokia’s 16.8 million smartphones for Q3. The Apple quarter ended 24 September, prior to the launch of iPhone 4S, and sales were down from the previous quarter suggesting many were waiting to buy the new model.
Samsung surpassed Nokia as the world's second-largest smartphone-maker (behind Apple) in Q2, when it shipped 19.6 million units, up from 12 million in the first quarter, according to market research firm Strategy Analytics.
"Samsung's impressive smartphone growth has been driven by its attractive hardware designs, advanced features, a compelling Android ecosystem and an extensive global distribution network," said Neil Mawston, an analyst with Strategy Analytics, who predicts that the South Korean vendor has shipped 20 million to 30 million smartphones worldwide in Q3.
Attention has now turned to the battle between Apple and Samsung in the key Q4 quarter with the iPhone 4S set to go head-to-head with Samsung’s new Galaxy Nexus, the first phone running Android’s new Ice Cream Sandwich software, which goes on sale next month. Apple sold more than 4 million units of the new iPhone in its first weekend.
Earlier this month, Samsung estimated its third-quarter operating profit would be in the range of KWR4 trillion to KWR4.4 billion (US$3.5 billion to $US3.9 billion), well above even the most bullish analyst predictions. Analysts in a Reuters poll set a consensus forecast of KWR3.4 trillion with the most bullish at KWR3.95 trillion.