According to a recent report from market research firm Gartner, Apple shipped more smartphones in the fourth quarter of 2020 than any other company. The tech giant shipped nearly 80 million units in the quarter, surpassing all other smartphone manufacturers including Samsung, for the first time since 2016.
Multiple reports from analysts have already stated that Apple is benefiting from the sales of its latest flagship iPhone 12 lineup, especially during the holiday quarter. Now Gartner’s report only reveals that Apple has beat Samsung in the smartphone market, worldwide.
Apple is the world’s largest smartphone maker in Q4 2020 for the first time since 2016
For the fourth quarter of 2020, Gartner suggests Apple sold 79.9 million iPhones, 14.9% more than the 69.6 million the firm says shipped in the same quarter one year prior. The results on this quarter helped Apple surpass Samsung as the top worldwide smartphone producer. Samsung’s sales saw an 11.8% decline, from 70.4 million in Q4 2019 to 62.1 million for Q4 2020.
Xiaomi and Oppo came in at third-place and fourth-place and each company saw growth of 33.9% and 12.9% respectively, resulting in sales of 43.4 million for Xiaomi and 34.3 million for Oppo. Huawei saw the biggest year-on-year slump of 41.1%, landing it in fifth place with 34.3 million sales. Huawei’s decline in sales can be attributed to its ongoing difficulties with the United States government.
“The sales of more 5G smartphones and lower-to-mid-tier smartphones minimized the market decline in the fourth quarter of 2020,” said Gartner senior research director Anshul Gupta. He continued, “Even as consumers remained cautious in their spending and held off on some discretionary purchases, 5G smartphones and pro-camera features encouraged some end users to purchase new smartphones or upgrade their current smartphones in the quarter.”
Apple’s impressive results for Q4 can be attributed to the launch of iPhone 12 with 5G connectivity. The delayed launch of the lineup also proved beneficial as the company usually launched its latest smartphone lineup towards the end of the third quarter. The company was forced to delay its launch by a few weeks because of the coronavirus pandemic.
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