According to research firm TrendForce, smartphone shipments reached 221 million units in the second quarter of 2013, a growth of 6.6% from last quarter and 31.4% year-on-year. Leading the way was Samsung with a total of 71 million units, and amazingly, 23 million of those were of the Galaxy S4 alone.
What's impressive is that those shipments are despite dwindling demand for high-end smartphones, as mid-range smartphones priced $US150-450 grow more popular among the consumers. Of course, Galaxy S4 sales failed to meet expectations, but it is funny to see how they keep selling more and more of the S4 despite critics and geeks alike deriding it for being made of plastic and having the same old boring design as every other Samsung phone (not that these complaints are invalid).
With the Galaxy Note III coming at the end of the year, Samsung's sales figures are only going to grow, though with increased competition from devices such as the Sony Xperia Z Ultra and HTC's upcoming phablet, it might not be as easy as it has been up till now.
