Revealed: Samsung and Apple's secret sales figures

 

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By Nicole Kobie

Posted on 10 Aug 2012 at 17:00

Samsung and Apple have been forced to reveal previously secret sales figures as part of an ongoing patent battle.

This month, the mobile giants are fighting out their patent dispute in a US court, after previous cases in the UK, Europe and elsewhere.

According to the US-only figures, Samsung sold 21m "accused" smartphones that are affected by the patent dispute since 2010, and 1.4m Galaxy Tab tablets since 2010.

Apple, on the other hand, outsold Samsung's affected phones and tablets with the iPhone and iPad alone, selling 86 million smartphones since 2007 and 34m iPads since 2010 - in the US only.

The numbers highlight the discrepancy between the two firms, with Apple dominating smartphones and tablets.

The sales stats also show a difference in what each device brings back to the companies in revenue, with Apple's devices bringing in more - and holding their price better - than Samsung's. This doesn't include the iPhone 4S, new iPad, or Galaxy S III - newer products which would likely push up the average for both firms.

It's no surprise that iPhone sales have fuelled Apple's success, making up the bulk of its revenue from iOS devices. One interesting point to note is that the Galaxy Tab originally earned Samsung more revenue per unit than the iPad, but only for its first quarter on sale.

A PDF of the full data is here.