An expanded number of models and a new look for the iPhone
12 lineup, Apple's first 5G-enabled devices, tapped pent up demand for
upgrades, especially in China.
Shipments hit 90.1 million phones, a record for any quarter,
giving it global market share of 23.4 percent, data from research firm IDC
showed.
"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 tracks China's smartphone market at Canalys.
The data comes on the heels of Apple reporting record
holiday quarter sales on Wednesday, with revenue crossing $100 billion for the
first time. Sales in Greater China, which includes Hong Kong and Taiwan, surged
57 percent.
"We had two of the top three selling smartphones in
urban China," Chief Executive Tim Cook told Reuters in an interview,
adding that upgraders in particular had set an all-time record in China.
As is often the case in the fourth quarter when it launches
new products, Apple took the top spot from Samsung Electronics. The South
Korean firm saw a 6.2 percent year-on-year increase to 73.9 million devices,
giving it market share of 19.1 percent.
Huawei, unsurprisingly, suffered the most pain, with
shipments tumbling a record 42.4 percent to 32.3 million.
The Chinese tech powerhouse has been battered after the
previous USt administration blacklisted it on national security grounds,
preventing overseas companies from supplying it with key parts including
semiconductors.
Huawei is now in early-stage talks to sell its premium
smartphone brands P and Mate, two people with direct knowledge of the matter
have said, a move that could see the company eventually exit from the high-end
smartphone-making business.
According to IDC, it now ranks 5th compared with the No. 2
ranking it had only two quarters earlier. But research firms Counterpoint and
Canalys, which also released data on Thursday, pegged Huawei at No. 6, marking
the first time in years that it has fallen out of the top five in their
rankings.
China's Xiaomi, the No. 3 seller, saw its shipments soar 32
percent while shipments for fourth-ranked Oppo climbed 10.7 percent, according
to IDC.
© Reuters
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