The launch of the 5G iPhone 12 series helped Apple record double-digit growth in the fourth quarter of 2020. Apple surpassed Samsung to retake the No. 1 global smartphone vendor spot (see Table 1). The last time Apple was the top smartphone vendor was in the fourth quarter for 2016.

Worldwide Top 5 Smartphone Sales to End Users by Vendor in 4Q20 (Thousands of Units)

Vendor

4Q20

Sales

4Q20 Market Share (%)

4Q19

Sales

4Q19 Market Share (%)

4Q20-4Q19 Growth (%)

Apple

79,942.7

20.8

69,550.6

17.1

14.9

Samsung

62,117.0

16.2

70,404.4

17.3

-11.8

Xiaomi

43,430.3

11.3

32,446.9

8.0

33.9

OPPO

34,373.7

8.9

30,452.5

7.5

12.9

Huawei

34,315.7

8.9

58,301.6

14.3

-41.1

Others

130,442.8

33.9

145,482.1

35.8

-10.3

Total

384,622.3

100.0

406,638.1

100.0

-5.4

Due to rounding, some figures may not add up precisely to the totals shown.

Source: Gartner (February 2021)

Full Year 2020 Results

Samsung experienced a year-on-year decline of 14.6% in 2020, but this did not prevent it from retaining its No. 1 global smartphone vendor position in full year results. It faced tough competition from regional smartphone vendors such as Xiaomi, OPPO and Vivo as these brands grew more aggressive in global markets. In 2020, Apple and Xiaomi were the only two smartphone vendors of the top five ranking to experience growth.

Huawei recorded the highest decline among the top five smartphone vendors which made it lose the No. 2 position to Apple in 2020 (see Table 2). The impact of the ban on use of Google applications on Huawei’s smartphones was detrimental to Huawei’s performance in the year and negatively affected sales.

Worldwide Top 5 Smartphone Sales to End Users by Vendor in 2020 (Thousands of Units)

Vendor

2020

Sales

2020

Market Share (%)

2019

Sales

2019

Market Share (%)

2020-2019

Growth (%)

Samsung

253,025.0

18.8

296,194.0

19.2

-14.6

Apple

199,847.3

14.8

193,475.1

12.6

3.3

Huawei

182,610.2

13.5

240,615.5

15.6

-24.1

Xiaomi

145,802.7

10.8

126,049.2

8.2

15.7

OPPO

111,785.2

8.3

118,693.2

7.7

-5.8

Others

454,799.4

33.7

565,630.0

36.7

-19.6

Total

1,347,869.8

100.0

1,540,657.0

100.0

-12.5

Due to rounding, some figures may not add up precisely to the totals shown.

Source: Gartner (February 2021)

“In 2021, the availability of lower end 5G smartphones and innovative features will be deciding factors for end users to upgrade their existing smartphones,” said Mr. Gupta. “The rising demand for affordable 5G smartphones outside China will boost smartphone sales in 2021.