Apple’s shipment surges; becomes world’s biggest smartphones seller

Apple’s shipment jumped to 22 per cent to record levels in the fourth quarter, making it the world’s biggest smartphones seller. The shipments which surged to 22 per cent record hit 90.1 million phones giving it a global market share of 23.4 per cent, according to data from the research firm IDC. This came in after the U.S. tech giant reported record holiday quarter sales on Wednesday, with revenue crossing $100 billion for the first time.

The U.S. based company saw a surge over 57% in Greater China, which includes Hong Kong and Taiwan in the sales as an expanded number of models and a new look for the iPhone 12 lineup, Apple’s first 5G-enabled devices, tapped pent up demand for upgrades.

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“We had two of the top three selling smartphones in urban China,” CEO Tim Cook told Reuters in an interview, adding that “upgraders, in particular, set an all-time record in China.”

As is often the case in the fourth quarter when it launches new products, Apple took the top spot from Samsung Electronics. The South Korean company saw a year-on-year increase of 6.2 per cent to 73.9 million devices.

Huawei shipments tumbled 42.4% in the quarter to 32.3 million as U.S. administration blacklisted it on national security grounds preventing overseas companies from supplying it with key parts including semiconductors.