comScore: Apple increases lead as top US smartphone maker, Samsung gains; Android down second month in a row
In the US, Apple started 2013 as the top OEM and it has only further increased its lead in February. Samsung is gaining as well, but not quite as quickly.
Context & Ripple Effects
February extends the pattern in January’s comScore reading: Apple led U.S. smartphone makers while Samsung gained, even as Android’s overall share slipped. That divergence matters because Apple and Samsung’s OEM momentum is no longer moving in lockstep with the platform aggregate.
The contrast follows late-2012 data in which Samsung led the broader U.S. mobile-device market while Apple had moved ahead of LG, making the smartphone ranking a more concentrated contest between the two companies.
First-order effects
- Apple widens its lead among U.S. smartphone makers, while Samsung adds share at a slower pace.
- Android’s second consecutive monthly U.S. share decline means gains by Samsung’s Android phones are not enough to offset losses elsewhere in the platform’s handset base.
Second-order effects
- Other Android handset makers face greater pressure to defend distribution and upgrades as Samsung gains within a platform whose aggregate share is falling.
- Apple’s widening OEM lead strengthens its position against both Samsung’s handset push and Android’s broader U.S. installed-base competition.
Third-order effects
- If Apple and Samsung continue taking share while Android’s aggregate share softens, U.S. smartphone competition will concentrate around a small number of OEMs rather than a broad field of handset brands.
The trend: U.S. smartphone competition is separating into OEM concentration at Apple and Samsung and a less predictable aggregate trajectory for Android.