The throne of the world's mobile phone king previously occupied by Samsung has now been successfully seized by Apple. According to the latest Canalys report, the Cupertino, US-based tech giant shipped more phones worldwide during the fourth quarter (Q4) 2021.
"Apple returns to the top of the smartphone market after three quarters, driven by the outstanding performance of the iPhone 13," said Canalys analyst Sanyam Chaurasia.
Another factor was driven by the iPhone sales performance in mainland China which was considered better than before. This is thanks to aggressive pricing keeping the value proposition strong.
Canalys sees Apple's supply chain starting to recover. But the company led by Tim Cook was forced to cut production in Q4 amid a shortage of key components so they have not been able to meet the iPhone's sizable demand.
"In priority markets, Apple maintains adequate delivery times, but in some markets its customers have to wait to get their hands on the new iPhones," said Chaurasia.
But it's not just Apple that has an impact on the component crisis. Canalys said component manufacturers are currently carrying out additional production, but it could take years for chipmakers to increase capacity significantly.
That's why smartphone makers are increasingly having to find new suppliers and rebalance their product ranges to focus on best-selling models.
Top 5 Mobile Rulers of the World Q4 2021
Apple dominates the market with a market share of 22% from October to December 2021. This figure is down from 23% in Q4 2020.
Samsung is in second place with a 20% market share. Interestingly, the market share of this technology giant from South Korea has actually increased from Q4 2020. Samsung only controlled 17% in that period.
Xiaomi occupies the third position with the same market share from Q4 2020, which is 12%. While the fourth and fifth positions are occupied by Oppo and Vivo.
Both achieved 9% and 8% market share, respectively. Down from 10% and 9% from Q4 2020.