Samsung Tops Global Smartphone Shipments in Q3; Apple Top Earner in Q2 2021: Reports

Samsung topped global smartphone shipments in the third quarter of 2021, while Apple earned the maximum operating profits during the second quarter of 2021, according to reports by research firms. While global smartphone shipments saw a 6 percent decline in Q3 2021 compared the same quarter last year, Samsung retained 23 percent of the market share in both quarters — followed by Apple that gained a 3 percent market share in the period, said one of the report. The other said that Apple, despite not topping smartphone shipments, captured 75 percent operating profit of the entire smartphone market in Q2.

As per a report by Canalys, Samsung was still the king of global smartphone shipments as it retained its 23 percent market share in the third quarter of 2021. As mentioned, it had the same market share during the second quarter of 2020. The report also mentions that the global smartphone market shrunk by 6 percent — owing to component shortages. However, Apple at 15 percent increased its market share of smartphone shipments from 12 percent to 15 percent year-on-year. It was closely followed by Xiaomi with a 14 percent market share — no change from the same quarter last year. Vivo and Oppo with a 10 percent share each completed the top 5 list of smartphone vendors. Both the Chinese companies saw a one percent year-on-year increase in their share of smartphone shipments in Q3 2021.

Counterpoint says in a new report that Apple, in Q2 2021 remained the top operating profit and revenue generator in the market. As mentioned, it captured 75 percent of the operating profit of global smartphone market, as well as 40 percent of the revenue. The report states that the secret to Apple's success has been the launch of its first 5G-enabled iPhone models. Furthermore, the interoperability of Apple products convinces users to stay within the Apple ecosystem. Apple's ability to charge a hefty premium for its smartphones has also enabled it to have the highest operating profit of any smartphone manufacturer.

The report by Counterpoint also mentions that Samsung has had the second spot in operating profit market share for the past several quarters. Only in Q4 2019 and Q2 2020, it was overtaken by Huawei. Following Apple and Samsung, Xiaomi, Oppo, and Vivo, in that order were the biggest revenue generators in the smartphone market in the second quarter of 2021.

The Counterpoint report says that Xiaomi has been more focussed on its global smartphone shipments numbers for the past few quarters. Now the Chinese OEM's next goal is said to turn the high volume business into a highly profitable business.