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 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 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.)