Local smartphone sales hit a record-high 2.45 million units last quarter, thanks to the launch of Apple Inc’s iPhone 6 series and strong sales of mid-priced smartphones from other brands, the International Data Corp (IDC) said yesterday.
IDC data also showed that Taiwan’s smartphone penetration rate reached nearly 96 percent in the third quarter, ranking third in the world after Hong Kong and Singapore.
“The fact that Taiwan was part of the second wave of iPhone 6 launches has boosted sales of smartphones in the country, leading the shipments of iPhones to Taiwan to grow over 50 percent quarter-on-quarter,” Taipei-based IDC analyst Joey Yen (嚴蘭欣) said in the report.
The demand for the iPhone 6 in Taiwan was stronger compared with that for the iPhone 5S last year, Yen added.
Many countries — including Taiwan — are facing a short supply of Apple’s 4.7 inch-screen iPhone 6 and 5.5 inch-screen iPhone 6 Plus, Yen said, adding that the sales momentum of the new iPhones could last longer compared with its previous models.
Overall mobile phone sales in Taiwan, including feature phones, reached 2.55 million units last quarter, up 19 percent year-on-year and 10 percent quarter-on-quarter, the IDC said.
Apart from the new iPhones, mid-priced smartphones with high price-performance ratios also contributed to increased smartphone sales last quarter, Yen said.
Asustek Computer Inc’s (華碩) mid-priced Zenfone series’ market share in Taiwan has grown this year, outperforming HTC Corp (宏達電) and South Korea’s Samsung Electronics Co to lead the market last quarter, Yen said.
HTC held the second-largest market share domestically, thanks to its mid-priced Desire 816 and One (M8) models, while Samsung dropped to third place last quarter, she said.
Sony Mobile Communications’s smartphones ranked fourth, while Chinese smartphone brand Xiaomi Corp’s (小米) No. 5 spot was taken by Apple last quarter, the IDC said.
The IDC expects the market to continue moving toward larger-screen smartphones. The 5-inch and above models account for about 67 percent of market share currently.
Meanwhile, phablets with 5.5-inch and above screens took 32 percent of the market last quarter, with HTC, Samsung and Asustek securing the top three places in the nation, Yen said.
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