comScore: Apple debuts 2013 as top US smartphone maker, Samsung gains but Android falls for the first time
In the US, Apple ended 2012 as the top OEM and it has only further increased its lead with the start of the New Year. Samsung is gaining as well, but not quite as quickly.
Context & Ripple Effects
In 2012, comScore’s rankings had Samsung ahead in the broader U.S. mobile-device market while Apple moved past LG into second place; an earlier smartphone measure had also put Samsung ahead of Apple. The latest reading reverses the smartphone-OEM ordering even as Samsung continues to add share, separating handset-brand competition from Android’s aggregate platform position.
First-order effects
- Apple extends its U.S. smartphone lead over Samsung, giving Apple the strongest OEM position in comScore’s opening-2013 measure.
- Samsung’s share still rises, but Android’s first recorded U.S. share decline means Samsung’s gains are not enough to sustain the platform’s aggregate momentum.
Second-order effects
- Samsung must close a widening Apple lead while competing within an Android base that is no longer expanding in comScore’s measure.
- Android’s other handset makers face a less favorable platform backdrop: Samsung’s growth does not translate into a rising aggregate Android share.
Third-order effects
- The figures point to a possible decoupling between OEM leadership and operating-system leadership, with Apple’s single-brand position gaining even while Android remains distributed across manufacturers.
- If the pattern persists, U.S. smartphone competition will be shaped less by Android’s total share and more by whether Samsung and other OEMs can convert platform scale into brand-level gains against Apple.
The trend: U.S. smartphone competition is shifting from a platform-share contest toward a sharper contest between Apple’s integrated brand and Android’s fragmented OEM base.