SAN FRANCISCO (US) – Shipments of Apple Inc’s smartphone spiked 22% to reach record levels in Q-4 while those of Huawei dipped as US-imposed sanctions kicked in.
Apple was able to tap pent up demand for upgrades, especially in China, through its expanded models and a revamped look for the iPhone 12 lineup.
There were as many as 90.1 million phones sent as shipments, a record of sorts for any quarter, and has clinched the global market share of 23.4%, according to figures released by research firm IDC.
“In China, Apple seized the perfect opportunity to capture Huawei’s market share in the high end, when the latter has essentially not enough supply even though demand for the brand is still there,” said Nicole Peng who scrutinises China’s smartphone market at Canalys.
This comes on the heels of Apple reporting record holiday quarter sales on Wednesday. Its revenue crossed $100 billion for the first time. In greater China, including Hong Kong and Taiwan, sales grew by 57%.
“We had two of the top three selling smartphones in urban China,” Chief Executive Tim Cook said, adding that upgraders had set an all-time record in China.
Apple grabbed the top spot from Samsung, which witnessed a 6.2% year-on-year hike to 73.9 million devices. The market share of the South Korean firm is 19.1%.
It was China’s Huawei Technologies Co Ltd which suffered the most with shipments dipping to a record 42.4%.
