Smart connected device market continues to post strong growth

The smart connected device (SCD) market continued to post strong growth in 3Q13, with combined shipments of PCs, tablets, and smartphones reaching almost 55 million units in the third quarter — up 12% on the same quarter last year, according to International Data Corporation (IDC). With shipments expected to exceed 230 million units this year in Western Europe and revenues to be near $120 billion — an increase of 11% year on year compared with 2012 — SCDs continue to be one of the fastest growing markets in the IT industry, with tablets and smartphones driving overall consumer electronics spending.

• Tablets continue to drive the SCD market from a growth perspective at 38% year on year in 3Q13, and shipments are expected to reach over 45 million units with growth of 53.1% for 2013 compared with 2012. 3Q was a transitioning quarter for several players ahead of new product introductions for the Christmas season. 4Q will be another buoyant quarter this year again for tablets, with strong sales expected for new purchases and renewals.

• Directly affected by an important form factor transition and the budget shift in the consumer space, the PC market continued to record softer results in 3Q13, declining 12.6% all form factors included. New ultra-slim and convertible form factors are generating interest in both the consumer and business segments, but high price points and a wait-and-see attitude have prevented faster uptake so far.

• Smartphones continue to be the largest segment from a volume perspective, representing nearly 60% of the total SCD space and shipping nearly 35 million units in Western Europe in 3Q13, with growth of 17%, driven by several key product refreshes and a continued fierce competitive environment between players.

"The smart connected device market is going through an accelerated expansion phase, fundamentally changing the way consumers and businesses use and consider their computing device, and the change in usage patterns will continue to drive innovation and to open new opportunities for the industry," said Chrystelle Labesque, research manager, IDC EMEA Personal Computing.
While Samsung leads the overall device market due to the volume of smartphones, the leadership and competitive environment within the three product categories continues to be differentiated:

• Apple continues to lead the European tablet market year-to-date from both a share and innovation standpoint. Samsung and Asus follow in second and third position respectively, while the market continues to see fast growth from PC vendors such as Acer. Amazon closed the top 5 ranking with strong online sales in the U.K. in particular.

• On the PC side, HP maintains clear leadership in the European PC market, followed by Lenovo, Dell, Acer, and Apple in the top 5 on a year-to-date basis.

• Samsung continues to dominate the Western European smartphone market, followed by Apple and Sony, with the top 3 covering nearly 75% of the market.

 
Notes: *Smart connected devices = desktop PCs, portable PCs, tablets, and smartphones. Shipments are branded shipments for all form factors (including desktops, notebooks, tablets, and smartphones) and exclude OEM sales for all vendors. Data for all vendors is reported for calendar periods.
 
IDC's Quarterly Smart Connected Device Tracker provides unmatched market coverage and forecasts of the entire computing device space, covering PCs, tablets, and smartphones across 70+ countries worldwide. Built on IDC's research methodology and unrivaled in-country analyst network, this program provides hardware manufacturers, software vendors, channel partners, telecom and service providers with fast, reliable, and comprehensive analysis of the changing dynamics, vendor shares, and detailed country-level forecasts across the entire smart connected device spectrum.