Apple Takes No. 1 Spot In Global Smartphone Market In Q4: Report

The momentum in the wake of the iPhone 12 launch has given  Apple Inc (NASDAQ: AAPL) the lead in smartphone market share and shipment volume in the fourth quarter. 

Overall Smartphone Market Slips: Global sales of smartphones fell 5.4% year-over-year in the fourth quarter, according to a new report released by Gartner Inc (NYSE: IT).

For the full year 2020, shipments were down a steeper 12.5%.

The slower rate of decline the fourth quarter relative to the full year was attributed to sales of more 5G smartphones and lower-to-mid tier smartphone sales.

"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," Anshul Gupta, senior research director at Gartner, said in a statement.

Related Link: 10 Things Apple Investors May Wish For In 2021

iPhone 12 Boosts Apple: Apple led the pack of smartphone vendors, wresting first place from South Korea's Samsung.

Apple sold about 79,942.7 units in the fourth quarter, up 14.9% year-over-year, giving it a market share of 20.8% compared to 17.1% one year ago. 

In the third quarter, Apple was the fourth-place vendor, behind Samsung, Huawei and Xiaomi.

In comparison, Samsung sold 62,1170 units in the fourth quarter, down 11.8% year-over-year. The company's market share fell 1.1 points to 16.2%.

Xiaomi's shipments climbed 33.9% and its market share was at 11.3%.

Oppo and Huawei had a market share of 8.9% each. Oppo's shipments rose 12.9%, while Huawei's slumped 41.1%.

The Smartphone Market In 2020: The full-year 2020 numbers show Samsung maintaining leadership despite seeing a 14.6% year-over-year drop in shipments. Its market share was at 18.8%.

Apple, by virtue of 3% growth, had a market share of 14.8%, giving it second place in the smartphone market in 2020.

Huawei slipped to third place, with its shipments falling 24.1% and market share eroding 2.1 points to 13.5%.

Huawei's woes can be traced back to the ban imposed by the U.S. on chip supply.

At last check, Apple shares were down 2.63% to $126.45.

(Photo: Shiwa via Unsplash.)