Samsung will extend its mobile handset market share lead over its nearest competitor to 11 percentage points in 2013, thanks to the launch of its latest Galaxy S handset, IHS iSuppli said in a new report.
"Combined with a massive worldwide rollout through almost every operator, the lifestyle focus of the S4 will help drive Samsung's market share sharply in 2013," said Ian Fogg, director for mobile and telecommunications research at IHS, in the report.
The Samsung Galaxy S4 introduced last month has not yet hit market shelves, but IHS already provided an optimistic outlook for Samsung's handset market share lead in 2013.
According to Samsung, the S4 will roll out with 327 mobile operators around the world in 155 countries starting at the end of April. The model features a larger, 5-inch full HD AMOLED display, and also demonstrates major upgrades in the sensors and application processor compared to the S3.
| IHS iSuppli: Top-5 handset vendors in 2012 (ranking by unit shipments) | |||
| Rank | Company | 2011 | 2012 |
| 1 | Samsung | 24% | 29% |
| 2 | Nokia | 30% | 24% |
| 3 | Apple | 7% | 10% |
| 4 | ZTE | 6% | 6% |
| 5 | LG | 6% | 4% |
Source: IHS iSuppli, compiled by Digitimes, March 2013