Apple vs. Samsung Sales Figures Q2 2013: Samsung Increases Smartphone Shipments as China Gains Shipments by Country, Says Canalys

China has maintained its position as the country with most smartphone shipments worldwide during the second quarter this year.

According to Canalys, shipments into China grew 108 percent in comparison to the second quarter of 2012. The second quarter of 2013 saw 88.1 million smartphone units in China, up from the 42.3 million units last year. 

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The United States (U.S.) kept its second place finish while seeing a growth of 36 percent in comparison to the second quarter of 2012. The U.S. saw 32.9 million smartphone shipments across its 50 states, which is up from 24.2 million units from 2012's second quarter.

India, meanwhile, saw the most year-to-year growth among the top five countries provided by Canalys. India saw a growth of 129 percent, which resulted in the country improving its rankings from 2012's fifth place finish to third place during the second quarter of 2013. The latest quarter saw 9 million units across the second most populated country, an increase from last year's 3.9 million units.

"India is a market in transition, moving from feature phones to smart phones, and is a market that offers huge potential as hundreds of millions of users have yet to upgrade their feature phones," said Canalys analyst Jessica Kwee. "Domestic vendors, such as Micromax and Karbonn, are capitalizing on the popularity of their feature phones and are quicker to respond to local market demands, hence their current success."

Japan narrowly lost its third place position, finishing fourth based on second-quarter results. Japan saw 8.6 million units, an increase of 25 percent from last year's 6.9 million units.

The United Kingdom (U.K.) placed last despite a growth of 34 percent. The U.K. saw 7.4 million units, an increase from the 5.5 million units it accounted during the 2012 second quarter.

Overall, 238.1 million smartphone units were shipped worldwide during the second quarter this year, which is a 50 percent increase from the 158.3 million units during the same period in 2012.

The figures emerge as Canalys revealed Samsung as the top smartphone shipments vendor with 75.6 percent, defeating Apple's 31.2 percent. Lenovo placed third with 11.3 percent, which represented a growth of 131 percent.

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