Petroc Taylor
Research expert covering global developments in the use of data
Get in touch with us nowGlobal smartphone unit shipments 2009-2022
In 2022, the total amount of smartphone shipments reached 1.21 billion units worldwide.
Global smartphone shipments worldwide – additional information
The global smartphone market saw an exceptional growth from 2009, when 173 million smartphones were shipped worldwide to 2016 when smartphone shipments amounted to 1.47 billion. Much of this increase can be attributed to the iPhone release in 2007. With its consumer-friendly design, Apple introduced multimedia functions to smartphones, offering more than basic features such as email and web browsing. Apple’s release pushed the competitors to respond with new models, and started to shape the consumers’ habits. This shift can be observed in smartphone vendors’ shipment figures. Nokia and Blackberry/RIM – previous leaders in smartphone shipments – saw their figures slowly decrease over the years, whereas Samsung and Apple increased their market share. In 2020, Samsung held 20.6 percent of the global market share, and Apple accounted for nearly 16 percent.
The global smartphone market was hit due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, but shows sign of recovery, and 1.57 billion smartphones are forecast to be shipped in 2022, with emerging markets taking the lead. Google’s Android is the most popular smartphone operating system in the world. In 2017, just over 80 percent of all smartphone shipped used Android operating system. This share is forecast to rise to 87.4 percent in 2023. Apple’s iOS is the second most popular operating system, with about 15 percent of the market share in 2017.
Global smartphone shipments worldwide – additional information
The global smartphone market saw an exceptional growth from 2009, when 173 million smartphones were shipped worldwide to 2016 when smartphone shipments amounted to 1.47 billion. Much of this increase can be attributed to the iPhone release in 2007. With its consumer-friendly design, Apple introduced multimedia functions to smartphones, offering more than basic features such as email and web browsing. Apple’s release pushed the competitors to respond with new models, and started to shape the consumers’ habits. This shift can be observed in smartphone vendors’ shipment figures. Nokia and Blackberry/RIM – previous leaders in smartphone shipments – saw their figures slowly decrease over the years, whereas Samsung and Apple increased their market share. In 2020, Samsung held 20.6 percent of the global market share, and Apple accounted for nearly 16 percent.
The global smartphone market was hit due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, but shows sign of recovery, and 1.57 billion smartphones are forecast to be shipped in 2022, with emerging markets taking the lead. Google’s Android is the most popular smartphone operating system in the world. In 2017, just over 80 percent of all smartphone shipped used Android operating system. This share is forecast to rise to 87.4 percent in 2023. Apple’s iOS is the second most popular operating system, with about 15 percent of the market share in 2017.
