Apple shipped the most 5G-ready smartphone units in the first quarter of 2021, but it lost market share to Oppo, Vivo, Samsung, and Xiaomi, according to the latest data from research firm Strategy Analytics.
Apple’s 5G smartphones market share dropped from 41% in Q4 2020 to 30% in Q1 2021
Per Strategy Analytics, 5G smartphone sales grew 6 percent Quarter over Quarter to 136 million units in Q1 2021 as demand remained strong in China, United States, and Western Europe. Sales are estimated to reach 624 million units this year, a significant increase when compared to 2020’s total shipments of 269 million units.
Apple was the only outlier during the quarter and all other top players saw their shipments go up. Samsung was the world’s fastest growing 5G-smartphone vendor during the first three months of 2021 and its sales grew 79 percent QoQ to 17 million units.
Growth-wise, Vivo was the second-best performer during Q1, with sales increasing 62 percent QoQ to 19 million units, thanks to robust demand for its iQOO U3 5G and U7 5G handsets in China and Europe. With 14.3 percent of the pie, it was the third-largest smartphone company in the previous quarter.
Oppo and Xiaomi both benefited from strong sales in their home turf of China. Oppo was the second biggest player with a market share of 15.8 percent. Sales grew 55 percent compared to Q4 2020.