Samsung Expects to Ship 510 Million Phones in 2013

While it’s hard – if not impossible – to catch up to the likes of Apple in the revenue department, Samsung has had a rather stellar 2012, with an estimated 420 million handsets shipped. In 2013, the company hopes to boost that number to 510 million. Think about that for a second. That’s half a billion phones in a world with ~7 billion people. More impressive is that this is only Samsung we’re talking about – and only phones. Add tablets, notebooks, other mobile devices and then other vendors and then… try to forget about it, because that sort of math is painful.

With such insane demand, it’s no surprise to see companies like ASUS heavily ramping up their mobile production. In comparison to Samsung, Apple shipped far less iPhones during 2012 – 125.04M vs. 420M, but again, Apple wins in the revenue department as its margins are better. Some, like me, might argue that market penetration is the more impressive factor of the two (unless you’re a shareholder, of course).

During 2013, Samsung plans to produce more Windows-focused phones and has also suggested that we’d be seeing more LTE-enabled devices as well. As for tablets, that’s yet to be seen, but it’s assured the company won’t be forgetting about that segment.

With Samsung’s huge ambitions for the coming year, Apple’s somewhat lacklustre product launches of late and other companies looking to boost production to a high, 2013 is looking to be an incredibly exciting year for mobile.