IDC: Samsung barely edges out Apple in total smartphone, tablet, and PC share
Samsung has been a dominant force in the smartphone industry, but the latest figures from IDC suggest the company has a strong foothold in the tablet and PC markets as well. Samsung barely edged out Apple with a 21.2 percent share of all smartphones, tablets, desktop and laptop computer sales worldwide in Q4 2012, according to estimates. Apple sits at 20.3 percent. Together to two industry giants account for nearly half of all mobile and personal computing devices across the globe.
Apple saw a pretty drastic increase from 15.7 percent share in Q3 of 2012 thanks to the release of the iPhone 5 and iPad mini. The impending launch of Samsung’s Galaxy S4 flagship is expected to help the Korean company maintain its marginal lead through the early half of 2013.
Overall, tablet sales are up while desktop and laptop shipments continue to decline, a sign that many are optiong to move on from traditional computing platforms in favor of portable devices capable of performing many of the same tasks.