Samsung and LG Gain Ground

Netbiscuits, today released its latest quarterly Web Trends Report, revealing big mobile traffic gains for Samsung and LG year-on-year, as Apple device usage stagnated and BlackBerry dropped to its lowest levels to date. The report, based on a sample of over a billion web hits per month rather than device sales figures, also revealed that consumers turned to devices with bigger screens in 2013, placing more pressure on brands to deliver consistent web experiences to an increasingly fragmented market.

Consumers look for more diversity as Apple stagnates

Netbiscuits report showed that Apple’s share of traffic fell slightly to 35.2% in the fourth quarter of 2013, while Samsung showed the greatest gain, reaching 31.6% and LG climbed 2.4% from the third quarter to 4.9%. Across the top 100 devices on the Netbiscuits Platform, Apple commands a 40.6% share with 10 devices. Samsung captures 32.9% but requires more than double (22 devices) to achieve this, with many more local country variants and screen sizes.

Size matters as consumers show an appetite for larger screens

As BlackBerry disappeared from Netbiscuits top ten device list, so too did representation for smartphones with screens under 3 inches. All screen sizes above 4 inches recorded a significant increase in traffic, while the biggest loser was the 3 to 3.9 inch segment, demonstrating how consumers are turning to bigger screens on mobile devices to carry out everyday tasks. This screen size shift means that the average screen size within the top 10 devices has increased from 3.9 to 4.2 inches