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iPhone Was the Most Popular Smartphone in Q4 2021

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iPhones accounted for around one-fifth of all smartphone shipments in the fourth quarter of 2021, allowing Apple to reclaim first place as the biggest smartphone vendor, according to a report from Canalys.

iPhone-13-Feature-Candy-Corn.jpg

Canalys estimates that the iPhone accounted for 22 percent of worldwide smartphone shipments in the fourth quarter of 2021. The scale of Apple's shipments is thanks to strong demand for the iPhone 13 lineup, which launched in September last year. Canalys analyst Sanyam Chaurasia said:
Apple is back at the top of the smartphone market after three quarters, driven by a stellar performance from the iPhone 13. Apple saw unprecedented iPhone performance in Mainland China, with aggressive pricing for its flagship devices keeping the value proposition strong. Apple's supply chain is starting to recover, but it was still forced to cut production in Q4 amid shortages of key components and could not make enough iPhones to meet demand. In prioritized markets, it maintained adequate delivery times, but in some markets its customers had to wait to get their hands on the latest iPhones.
Click to expand...

Apple reclaimed first place from Samsung, which had reigned as the top smartphone vendor in the previous quarter. Samsung fell slightly short of Apple's shipments with a market share of 20 percent. Xiaomi retained its third-place position with 12 percent share of shipments.

canalys-smartphone-vendors-q4-2021.jpg

Overall smartphone shipments grew just one percent globally due to supply chain issues, but supply chain disruption primarily affected low-end vendors rather than titans such as Apple. Canalys also noted that it may be several years before component manufacturers are able to sufficiently increase their production capacity to meet demand. Industry bottlenecks are not expected to ease until the second half of 2022.

While supply chain constraints cost Apple $6 billion in the fourth fiscal quarter of 2021, the company's supply chain is now firmly recovering as it prepares for a slate of new product launches this year.

Article Link: iPhone Was the Most Popular Smartphone in Q4 2021
 
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https://www.macrumors.com/2022/01/18/iphone-most-popular-smartphone-in-q4-2021/
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julesme

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5G super cycle is helping iPhone sales. If you've ever been on a moving train downloading at 400Mbps+ (or a hotel room, or other public place and don't ever have to use their wifi again), then you know 5G makes a real difference and is a great reason to upgrade.

Now if we can just get rid of the notch!
 
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Mr. Dee

Mr. Dee

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There were a few girls waiting at the light rail yesterday, all iPhone 13’s. I am starting to rarely see like a 11 or XS these days. The older 6s and SE is still around since I see many on public transport all the time using one. Apple seems to have the yearly upgrade cycles locked too.
 
Michael Scrip

Michael Scrip

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spartan1967 said:
Losing market share to Samsung. If I was Apple, that's the only stat I'd be hearing right now.
Click to expand...

Samsung has been on the top of this list for many years. But as soon as Apple finally gets to the top... your first thought is "Look out Apple... Samsung is coming for you! Run!"

These market share numbers change constantly. And Samsung smartphones don't run iOS.

So if you want an iPhone... you're gonna buy an iPhone. Apple has a unique desirable product.

But if market share is so important... what if I told you that Honda only has 7% of the worldwide automobile market?

Pathetic, right? Perhaps Honda should close all their factories and quit!

?
 
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MauiPa

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Let's see 22% on iOS, so that leaves hmmmm, math is hard, oh yah 78% on android/others. What about all those who say apple is a monopoly? By definition, you can't be a monopoly with only 22% market share. Customers do have a choice and it seems about 4 out of 5 are choosing android. So maybe Android is the monopoly?
 
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MauiPa

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spartan1967 said:
Yes, but that stat. shows less people want to buy an iPhone and more want a Samsung.
Click to expand...
I know math is hard, but generally speaking 22%(apple) is larger than 20% (Samsung). that equates to more people want Apple, not Samsung
 
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Michael Scrip

Michael Scrip

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spartan1967 said:
Yes, but that stat. It shows less people want to buy an iPhone and more want a Samsung.
Click to expand...

A person buys a new smartphone every 2 to 5 years.

But people buy smartphones every day.

Maybe iPhone owners don't upgrade as often... but Samsung owners do.

And like I said... these market share numbers are always changing. Every three months, in fact. So there's not really much you can glean from this one chart.

It should be noted that Samsung was on top of these charts for 40 quarters in a row. And now Apple is.

So there's that...

;)
 
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44267547

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spartan1967 said:
Yes, but that stat. shows less people want to buy an iPhone and more want a Samsung.
Click to expand...
Partially because Samsung phones have terrible resale value compared to the iPhone. They (iPhones) hold value so much longer. It’s not even about the whole argument of which ‘smart phone is made better’, being that the hardware is great, it really comes down to the software experience long-term for the consumer, which the iPhone obviously receives a considerable amount of software updates/support.
 
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gaximus

gaximus

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spartan1967 said:
Yes, but that stat. shows less people want to buy an iPhone and more want a Samsung.
Click to expand...
A lot of this is not want, but can afford. If you were to compare iPhones, and Samsungs in the same price range the numbers would be much different.

www.androidauthority.com

Report: For phones over $800, Apple owns 79% of the global market

The newest Counterpoint Research report breaks down the global premium smartphone market. The report looks great for Apple, and ho-hum for everyone else.
www.androidauthority.com www.androidauthority.com
 
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spartan1967

spartan1967

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MauiPa said:
I know math is hard, but generally speaking 22%(apple) is larger than 20% (Samsung). that equates to more people want Apple, not Samsung
Click to expand...
That’s OK, let’s see how we do with reading. Looks like Market Share is equal for both companies. If you have a cell phone, more likely you will own a Samsung in a few years, as the trending shows.

“Market share is the percentage of the total revenue or sales in a market that a company's business makes up. For example, if there are 50,000 units sold per year in a given industry, a company whose sales were 5,000 of those units would have a 10 percent share in that market.”
 
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_Spinn_

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I’m impressed that Apple keeps demand up year after year. Arguably the smartphone market has become a mature market and upgrade cycles are slowing but Apple manages to have impressive sales each release cycle.
 
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KOTN91

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julesme said:
5G super cycle is helping iPhone sales. If you've ever been on a moving train downloading at 400Mbps+ (or a hotel room, or other public place and don't ever have to use their wifi again), then you know 5G makes a real difference and is a great reason to upgrade.

Now if we can just get rid of the notch!
Click to expand...


I’d like to know if this is in the UK? Frequently not even been able to get any signal at all of a moving train, let alone 400mbps. I have an iPhone 13 and before that an iPhone 12, same deal even though they both have 5G
 
desslr

desslr

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That chart says Apple is doing worse YOY than it’s competitors, Samsung is doing better.
 
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julesme

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KOTN91 said:
I’d like to know if this is in the UK? Frequently not even been able to get any signal at all of a moving train, let alone 400mbps. I have an iPhone 13 and before that an iPhone 12, same deal even though they both have 5G
Click to expand...

No, it was in the US. I've gotten as high as 716Mbps in a dense urban area (not on a moving vehicle).

On the other hand, there is a lot of room for improvement. I often see the speed drop way down in other places and/or switch back to 4G when there is no 5G signal. So I would say that the 5G performance still varies widely depending on location!
 
spatlese44

spatlese44

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Not that it matters, but adding up to 71% leaves a lot of ”rounding”.

As for 5G, I’m still on an SE without it. I stopped using public WiFi years ago and and regularly set up a hotspot on the train or in a hotel room. Fast enough for me. I look forward to a 5G phone, just not a priority.
 
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