Global smartphone shipments topped one billion for the first time in 2013, International Data Corp. said Monday.
Smartphone vendors shipped slightly more than one billion units in 2013, a 38 percent increase from 2012, mostly in line with IDC’s forecast of 1.01 billion units, the firm said.
“The sheer volume and strong growth attest to the smartphone’s continued popularity in 2013,” said Ramon Llamas, an IDC research manager.
Samsung Electronics had the biggest smartphone market share last year, up to 31.3 percent from 30.3 percent in the previous year. Volumes hit 313.9 million, an approximately 43 percent increase from the prior year.
Apple shipped 153.4 million smartphones in 2013, up nearly 13 percent from 2012. The iPhone maker’s second-best market share slipped, however, to 15.3 percent from 18.7 percent.
This article originally appeared on MarketWatch.com.