
There has been a marked shift in Asia with regard to mobile phone preferences, new research has suggested.
Carried out by IDC, the Asia/Pacific Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker revealed many people in the region are now regarding Android smartphones as highly as the iPhone, with the devices becoming cheaper and increasingly popular.
It was shown that smartphones will represent 35 per cent of total mobile phone shipments this year, which is markedly higher than the 30 per cent recorded in 2011.
Ryan Lai, associate market analyst for mobile phone and tablet research at IDC Asia/Pacific, noted: “In a segment previously dominated by Apple’s iPhone, [the quarter] saw the iOS device dethroned as the king of high-end smartphones for the first time since [2010’s quarter two].”
Mr Lai explained Samsung’s Galaxy S III has now taken the top spot, adding the feat is all the more notable because the device only became available in the latter part of this year’s second quarter.
However, the release of the latest iPhone product should see Apple rebound in the fourth quarter of 2012, he observed.