Apple introduced its first 5G enabled iPhones last year at the ‘Special Event’ in October. In the first quarter of 2021, the company held the top spot in the number of 5G smartphones sold. However, according to research firm Strategy Analytics, other companies are fast increasing their share in the 5G segment of smartphones.
The iPhone maker shipped nearly 40.4 million phones equipped with 5G capabilities in the first quarter of this year. As a result, the company reportedly held its control over 29.8% of the market. But as other companies gear themselves up with new high end and budget phones equipped with 5G, Apple’s market share in the 5G market has reportedly fallen down to 23%.
Apple: Still the leader in the market
However, Apple continues to have a lead in the market and is only followed by Oppo which has 15.8% share in the market, having sold nearly 21.5 million units in the first quarter of 2021. In the same period, Vivo took the third spot in the market with 21.5 million units sold and having 15.8% of the market share. It was followed by Samsung which sold nearly 17 million units and as a result was able to grab 12.5% of the market share.
The company which was once known as ‘Apple of China’ – Xiaomi – reportedly sold 16.1 million units of its 5G capable phones. It was able to capture 12.2% of the market share in the first quarter of 2021.
“Samsung is performing well with new 5G models, such as Galaxy S21 5G, S21 ultra 5G and S21+ 5G, in South Korea, North America, and parts of Europe,” said Strategy Analytics’s associate director Ville-Petteri Ukonaho. “Meanwhile, Apple dipped 23% quarter-over-quarter, following a blowout Q4 2020 where the new 5G iPhone was wildly popular as a gift during the holiday season.”
