New smartphone releases and an increased emphasis on emerging markets drove global smartphone shipments above 300 million units for the second consecutive quarter. According to IDC, vendors shipped a total of 327.6 million units during the third quarter of 2014, resulting in 25.2% growth when compared to the 261.7 million units shipped in third-quarter 2013 and 8.7% sequential growth above the 301.3 million units shipped in second-quarter 2014.

IDC also said the worldwide tablet grew 11.5% on year in the third quarter with shipments reaching 53.8 million units. Despite a continued shipment decline for its iPad product line, Apple maintained its lead in the worldwide tablet market, shipping 12.3 million units in the third quarter. Samsung Electronics held its number two position on the market with 9.9 million units shipped, capturing an 18.3% market share in the third quarter. Asus regained its number three position with 3.5 million units and 6.5% share of the market. Lenovo fell back to the number four position with 3 million units.