Samsung Successfully Seizes Apple's Crown In Q1 2021

Ilustrasi Samsung (Photo by Nathan Dumlao on Unsplash)

JAKARTA - Samsung Electronics reclaimed its crown as the world's largest smartphone maker from Apple in the first quarter (Q1) of 2021, which received a fifth of all global shipments.

Xaomi, meanwhile, took third place as shipments jumped 62 percent to 49 million cellphones and its market share rose to 14 percent.

Overall, global shipments jumped 27 percent to 347 million units in the first quarter as China's economy opened up after the pandemic and the rapid rollout of a vaccine in the United States, raising hopes of an economic recovery.

According to a report by market research firm Canalys quoted from Gizmochina, Friday, April 30, South Korea-based Samsung shipped 76.5 million smartphones in the first quarter to capture 22 percent of the market share. The company also reported a 66 percent jump in the cellphone business, thanks to strong sales of the Galaxy S21 series of smartphones.

Canalys said Apple shipped only 52.4 million iPhones in the January to March period, falling to second place with a 15 percent market share. However, Apple still achieved record market share in the US, China, India and Japan.

Smartphone sales are known to have jumped over the past year because people live and work from home. However, increased shopping activity has also fueled a global shortage of semiconductor chips that has rattled industries including automobiles.

"The supply of critical components, such as chipsets, is quickly becoming a major concern, and will hinder smartphone shipments in the coming quarters," said Canalys analyst Ben Stanton.

Apple acknowledged that the shortage of chips could cost the company's revenue as much as US $ 3 billion to US $ 4 billion in the April to June quarter, especially affecting iPad and Macbook production.

Smartphone shipments in the March quarter for the Oppo and Vivo brands also surged. Unfortunately Huawei, the former number one who remains shackled by US sanctions, only took seventh place after selling the Honor brand last year.