Southeast Asian smartphone sales rose 61 per cent in the first three quarters of this year, reports market research firm GfK Asia.
From January to September this year, consumers spent US$10.8 billion for nearly 41.5 million smartphones in Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam, Cambodia and the Philippines. Also in September, one in every two mobile handsets purchased in Southeast Asia was a smartphone, according to the survey.
Indonesia led the region in smartphone sales volume and value, with 14.8 million smartphones acquired for over US$3.33 billion in the first three quarters of 2013, according to the report. Thailand ranked second with smartphone sales at 7.2 million, and Malaysia third at 6.4 million units sold.
Android also secured a 72 per cent market share in Southeast Asia for the period, with the Google mobile operating system accounting for 91, 83 and 81 per cent of total smartphone sales in Philippines, Malaysia and Singapore respectively. GfK Asia digital technology account director Gerard Tan notes, “(Android) continues to be increasingly sought after across six of the (SEA) markets.”
