iPhone 12 shipping delay sees Apple slip to fourth place among global smartphone manufacturers

Apple shipped 41.6 million iPhones in the third quarter of 2020, down 10.6% year-over-year, which placed the company in fourth among smartphone manufacturers for the first time with 11.8% share, according to IDC. 

The research group says this drop was expected and is mainly due to the delay in the launch of the new iPhone 12 series, which is usually in the third quarter. Regardless, the iPhone 11 series did exceptionally well, contributing the majority of Apple’s volume, followed by the SE device. Looking ahead, IDC expects Apple to grow in coming quarters with strong early demand for iPhone 12 paired with robust trade-in offers across major carriers, especially in the U.S.

Samsung reclaimed the top position among smartphone manufacturers in the third quaraterwith a market share of 22.7% after shipping 80.4 million smartphones, up 2.9% year over year. Huawei lost the top spot and settled into the second position with 51.9 million smartphones shipped and 14.7% share. Xiaomi shipped 46.5 million devices to grab the number 3 position globally, beating Apple for the first time with 13.1% share and 42.0% growth.