According to market research firm Strategy Analytics, strong iPhone 5 sales and a record-breaking holiday quarter have pushed Apple ahead of Samsung in US mobile phone marketshare with a brawny 34%.
For the first time ever, the Cupertino company has become the largest mobile phone vendor in the United States. And for the first time since 2008, Samsung is not. We’ve got more on the report after the fold…
Strategy Analytics estimates that Apple shipped 17.7 million mobile phones in the United States during the fourth quarter of 2012. Samsung came in a close second, shipping 16.8 million mobile phones to the country.
LG kept its spot from last quarter, coming in a very distant third. The market research firm estimates that it shipped just 4.7 million mobile phones to the US during Q4 of last year, giving it a measly 9% marketshare.
Of course, these numbers, along with Apple’s position on top, are only good for a few months. And with Samsung’s highly-anticipated Galaxy S4 launch coming up, we imagine they’ll seesaw again next quarter.
Apple’s next handset, likely the iPhone 5S, isn’t expected to hit the market for another 6-8 months.