According to the Canalys report, in the fourth quarter of 2021, Apple iPhone mobile phones accounted for about one-fifth of all global smartphone shipments, making Apple back as the largest smartphone provider.
Canalys estimates that in the fourth quarter of 2021, the iPhone accounted for 22% of global smartphone shipments. The size of Apple’s shipments has benefited from strong demand for the iPhone 13 lineup launched last September. Canalys analyst Sanyam Chaurasia said:
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“Apple is back at the top of the smartphone market after three quarters, driven by the strong performance of the iPhone 13 series. Apple has seen unprecedented iPhone purchasing power performance in mainland China, and aggressive pricing of its flagship devices makes its value proposition remain strong.
Apple’s supply chain started to recover, but in the fourth quarter, it was still forced to cut production due to shortages of key components and was unable to produce enough iPhones to meet demand. It maintained adequate lead times in priority markets, but in some markets, its customers have to wait to get the latest iPhone.”
Moreover, Apple regained the No. 1 spot from Samsung, which dominated the top smartphone vendor in the last quarter. Samsung phone shipments are slightly behind Apple, with a 20% market share. Xiaomi retained the third position with a 12% shipment share. OPPO’s shipment share was 9%, ranking fourth; Vivo’s shipment share was 8%, ranking fifth.
Due to supply chain issues, overall global smartphone shipments increased by only 1%, but supply chain disruptions mainly affected low-end suppliers, not giants such as Apple. Canalys also noted that it could take several years for component makers to ramp up capacity sufficient to meet demand. Industry bottlenecks are not expected to ease until the second half of 2022.
(via)
