Smartphone shipments grew 43% in 2013

Data from Futuresource Consulting Research has revealed tremendous growth in the smartphone market throughout 2013.

The firm says that global smartphone shipments grew 43 per cent last year, hitting 1.02bn units.

Tablet shipments, meanwhile, grew 57 per cent to 243m units, with 90m units being shipped in the quarter ending December alone. Apple and Samsung claimed a 47 per cent share of the tablet market between them.

"The smartphone market’s continued growth has been driven by ever-increasing demand in emerging markets, particularly in Asia,” market analyst Oliver Rowntree stated.

China was the largest market globally, with a total size of 310m units, and was dominated in large part by domestic brands such as Lenovo, Huawei, ZTE, Xiaomi and Coolpad.