Apple reclaims top smartphone seller position from Samsung

Apple along with Xiaomi were the only two smartphone firms in the top five to experience growth

Apple’s sale of its recent iPhone 12 series helped it to reclaim the top spot

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Apple’s sale of its recent iPhone 12 series has given the company a lift in the global sales ranking. The Cupertino-based company reclaimed the top position, beating Samsung, first time since 2016.

"The launch of the 5G iPhone 12 series helped Apple record double-digit growth in the fourth quarter of 2020," said research firm Gartner.

Apple sold about 18 million phones more than Samsung in the fourth quarter, 2020 growing 15% compared to same period in the previous year. The South Korean handset maker sold about 62 million phones in the same period and took the second spot.

Apple along with Xiaomi were the only two smartphone firms in the top five to experience growth. Samsung, Huawei and Oppo were the other top five players.

Huawei’s sales saw the steepest decline, dropping 41% in the fourth quarter. Gartner said impact of the ban on use of Google applications on Huawei’s smartphones to have affected sales.

Global sales of smartphones to end users declined 5.4% in the fourth quarter of 2020 and 12.5% in full year 2020, according to Gartner.

However, the research firm noted that the rising demand for affordable 5G smartphones may boost smartphone sales this year.

“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 Anshul Gupta, senior research director at Gartner.