Apple passes Nokia to become biggest smartphone producer by volume
According to Financial Times, Apple has passed Nokia to become the biggest smartphone producer by volume on the planet. It took both Apple's recent 20 million iPhone surge, and Nokia's just as recent decline for the two to switch position, but that it happened only 4 years after Apple entered the market is impressive none the less.
Apple was already the biggest smartphone maker by revenue and profits, but the April-June period marked the first time it had surpassed Nokia in volume.
Nokia recently began a painful transition away from the "burning platform" of Symbian towards Microsoft's Windows Phone, similar to the one Palm (now HP) took towards webOS and RIM is taking towards QNX.
Apple, meanwhile, is full speed ahead on iOS, with iOS 5 set for release this fall, and most likely iPhone 5 to go with it.
Editor-in-Chief of iMore, Executive Producer at Mobile Nations, co-host of Iterate and ZEN and TECH, cook, grappler, photon wrangler.
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NOKIA who?
Nokia who? Nokia world leader in mobile phone sales. Let's not forget that smartphones are just a little over 20% of the whole phone market.
Go back to your nokia world boy, yes nokia who? Idiot
Nokia are still doing well outside the USA...there is world beyond it
Doing well? Like losing more that 0.5 billion dollars last quarter, while Apple payed that 0.6 billion dollars?
I'm not waiting forever Nokia, it's either you or iPhone 5. Hurry up!
Never had a Nokia. Are those the ones that have little candies inside?
Ha ha ha lol lol lol
Nokia has fallen hard and fast and the next 2 quarters aren't going to be any better. They have bet the farm on Windows Phone 7 an unproven Os so this decline could become the norm. It also looks like Samsung will pass Nokia in smartphone sales and possibly all handsets.
Most people saying "Nokia who" obviously don't travel outside North America. Nokia is still very big in Europe, Africa, etc. but for some reason they've never really caught on on our side of the pond.
Two things:
Nokia will probably never recover that lost smartphone sales volume. Especially now that they're Microsoft's hardware b!tch.
Who will be the next to surpass Nokia in smartphones?
Nokia dominates in the low-end stuff. All the El Cheapo stuff I see here in London, seems to be lowest-common denominator Nokias. Not seen Nokia smartphones being used regularly, since about 2008. It seems that everyone either has a 3G/S, iPhone 4, HTC Desire or Blackberry of some description.