Boston – U.S.
smartphone shipments fell in the second quarter compared with the year-ago
period, when falling shipments of Android and BlackBerry smartphones failed to
offset rising Apple smartphone shipments, Strategy Analytics found.
Smartphone
shipments fell 5.4 percent to 23.8 million units in the quarter from a year-ago
25.2 million because of a 1.9 million drop in Android shipments and a 1.1
million drop in BlackBerry shipments, Strategy Analytics found. Those drops
failed to offset Apple’s 2 million unit gain to 7.9 million, it said
“This was one of the slowest growth rates ever
experienced by the important U.S. smartphone market,” said Alex Spektor, associate
director at Strategy Analytics. “A volatile economy, maturing penetration of
smartphones among contract mobile subscribers, and major operators tightening
their upgrade policies to enhance profits were among the main causes of the
slowdown.”
Executive director Neil Mawston pointed out
that although Android remains the top OS platform by volume in the U.S.,
Android’s market share “is approaching a peak, and Apple iOS has been gaining
ground.” Apple’s U.S. share rose by 10 percentage points to 33.2 percent in the
second quarter compared with the year ago, while Adnroid’s share fell to 56.3
percent from a year-ago 60.6 percent.
“Apple is rumored
to be launching a new iPhone in the coming weeks, and that event, if it takes
place, is going to heap even more pressure on Android in its home market,” said
Mawston.
