Global smartphone shipments jumped 47 per cent to 229.6 million in Q2 2013 from 156.5 million units in Q2 2012, according to the latest research from Strategy Analytics, with Samsung accounting for much of the growth.

“The smartphone industry’s shipment growth rate, which is higher today than a year ago, is being driven by surging demand for 4G models in developed regions like the US, and 3G models in emerging markets such as India,” said Neil Shah, senior analyst at Strategy Analytics.

The analyst firm added that Samsung smartphone shipments grew faster than the market at 56 per cent annually, reaching a record 76 million units worldwide during the second quarter. The South Korean manufacturer claimed a 33 per cent market share during Q2 2013, shipping over two times more smartphones than Apple during the quarter.

Apple shipped 31.2 million iPhones worldwide in Q2 2013, up from 26.0 million a year earlier. Apple grew just 20 per cent annually during Q2 2013, which, says Strategy Analytics, is less than half the overall smartphone industry average (47 per cent).

Apple’s global smartphone market share of 14 per cent is at its lowest level since the second quarter of 2010.

“The current iPhone portfolio is under-performing and Apple is at risk of being trapped in a pincer movement between rival 3-inch Android models at the low-end and 5-inch Android models at the high-end,” said Neil Mawston, executive director at Strategy Analytics.

There was better news for LG as its global shipments doubled year-on-year to 12.1 million units in Q2 2013. LG captured 5 per cent share, according to the analyst firm, and maintained its position as the world’s third-largest smartphone vendor for the second straight quarter.

“The popular Optimus and Nexus models have been the main drivers of LG’s success,” said Linda Sui, a Strategy Analytics analyst. “If LG can expand its retail presence and marketing in major countries such as the US or China, LG could quietly start to challenge Apple for second position.”

Chinese suppliers ZTE and Huawei are also making solid inroads into the smartphone market. ZTE shipped 11.5 million smartphones worldwide to claim a record 5 per cent market share for the firm during Q2 2013. ZTE became the world’s fourth largest smartphone vendor for the first time ever in its history during the second quarter. Growth, perhaps not surprisingly, was driven mostly by a strong performance in the huge China market.

Huawei shipped 11.1 million smartphones worldwide to grab a 5 per cent market share in Q2 2013 (but still ranked fifth behind ZTE in fourth). And with LG in third spot and Samsung in first, the global smartphone market, points out Strategy Analytics, is now clearly dominated by Asian-based brands.

The release of the smartphone figures are part of Strategy Analytics Q2 2013 numbers for all mobile phone shipments, which rose 4 per cent annually to reach 386 million units. Samsung is dominant in the wider market, too, strengthening its leading position with a healthy 28 per cent share of all mobile phones shipped worldwide during the second quarter.

“This was the mobile phone industry’s fastest growth rate since the second quarter of 2012,” added Shah. “Strong demand for entry-level Android devices in Asia and Latin America drove much of the growth.”

Nokia, however, continues to struggle. The Finnish firm’s global mobile phone shipments fell 27 per cent, from 83.7 million units in Q2 2012 to 61.1 million in Q2 2013.

“Fading Symbian smartphone volumes and lacklustre feature phone demand caused Nokia’s shrinkage,” said Mawston. “Nokia continued to struggle in the big three markets of China, US and India and these remain key challenges that the Finnish vendor needs to fix as a matter of priority.”