Samsung Phones Lost to Apple Again in Q4... Annual Market Share Declines

[Asia Economy Reporter Joeslgina] Samsung Electronics maintained its top position in the global smartphone market last year, but both its annual shipment volume and market share declined. On a quarterly basis, it had to once again yield the Q4 throne to competitor Apple, which launched the first 5G smartphone, the iPhone 12. The annual gap with Apple also narrowed significantly.

According to a report released on the 28th (local time) by market research firm Canalys, Samsung Electronics' smartphone shipment volume last year was 255.6 million units, down 14% from the previous year (298 million units). Although it retained the annual No. 1 spot, its market share fell from 22% to 20%. This was due to sluggish sales of the Galaxy S20 series launched amid the spread of COVID-19 in the first half of the year, and in Q4, being overshadowed by the Apple iPhone 12 effect.

Meanwhile, Apple, ranked second, showed 5% growth last year thanks to the iPhone 12. Its annual shipment volume increased from 198.1 million units to 207.1 million units, overtaking China's Huawei and closely chasing Samsung. The market share gap between No. 1 Samsung and Apple also narrowed from 8 percentage points the previous year to 4 percentage points.

Following them, China's Huawei (including the Honor brand), hit by U.S. government sanctions, recorded 188.5 million units, down 22% from the previous year. Xiaomi (149.6 million units) and Oppo (115.1 million units) ranked fourth and fifth respectively. Xiaomi, emphasizing cost-effectiveness, absorbed some of Huawei's market gap and showed nearly 20% growth. Amber Liu, an analyst at Canalys, explained, "Huawei struggled due to the impact of U.S. sanctions."

Global Smartphone Shipment Volume Last Year [Annual Basis, Provided by: Canalys]

On a quarterly basis, Apple overtook Samsung Electronics to take first place in Q4 last year. Apple, which usually unveils new iPhones in September, also surpassed Samsung in Q4 of 2019.

Reflecting the effect of the iPhone 12 launch, Apple's smartphone shipment volume in Q4 last year increased 4% year-on-year to 81.8 million units, with a market share of 23%. In contrast, Samsung's shipment volume during the same period fell 12% from 70.8 million units to 62 million units, and its market share also declined from 19% to 17%. Vincent Thielke, a Canalys analyst, said, "Apple is ahead of competitors in the 5G segment," and evaluated the iPhone 12 as a "hit product."

Huawei's poor performance was also notable in the Q4 global smartphone market. Even including shipments of its mid-range brand Honor, Huawei failed to rank in the top 5. Canalys emphasized that this is the first time in six years that Huawei has been excluded from the global top 5 smartphone manufacturers. Huawei's Q4 shipment volume was around 32 million units. Instead, other Chinese manufacturers such as Xiaomi (43.4 million units), Oppo (34.7 million units), and Vivo (32.1 million units) filled the gap with double-digit growth. Global smartphone shipments in Q4 totaled 359.6 million units, down 2% year-on-year.

Global Smartphone Shipment Volume in Q4 Last Year [Provided by: Canalys]

Data from another market research firm, Counterpoint Research, also confirmed Apple's rapid chase of Samsung Electronics, led by the iPhone 12. On an annual basis, Samsung retained the world No. 1 spot but lost its 20% market share level. Samsung's shipment volume last year was 255.7 million units, down 14% from 296.9 million units the previous year. Meanwhile, Apple grew 3%, from 195.6 million units to 201.1 million units. Their market shares were 19% and 15%, respectively.

On a Q4 basis, Apple (81.9 million units) took the global No. 1 spot. It was followed by Samsung Electronics with 62.5 million units, Xiaomi with 43 million units, Oppo with 34 million units, Vivo with 33.4 million units, and Huawei with 33 million units. Huawei, which is under U.S. sanctions, saw a 41% decrease compared to the previous year.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.