Apple Remained Top Vendor of 5G Smartphones in Q1 2021 [Chart]

Apple was the top vendor of 5G smartphones in the first quarter of 2021 despite a surge in shipments from Samsung and Vivo, reports Strategy Analytics. Samsung's shipments grew 79% quarter-on-quarter while Vivo's jumped 62%.

Apple led the pack with 29.8% of the market, down from 40.7% in the previous quarter. OPPO came in second at 15.8%, followed by vivo at 14.3%.

Ken Hyers, Director at Strategy Analytics, said, “Global 5G smartphone shipments grew a healthy 6% QoQ and hit a record 136 million units during the first quarter of 2021. Demand for 5G smartphones remains very strong, particularly in China, United States, and Western Europe. We forecast global 5G smartphone shipments to reach a record 624 million units for the full-year 2021, soaring from 269 million in full-year 2020.”


Ville-Petteri Ukonaho, Associate Director at Strategy Analytics, added, “Samsung was the world’s fastest growing 5G smartphone vendor in Q1 2021, leaping 79% QoQ to 17 million units shipped. 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. Vivo was the second fastest growing 5G smartphone vendor in Q1 2021, jumping 62% QoQ to 19 million units shipped, driven by its iQOO U3 5G and U7 5G smartphones. Vivo’s 5G smartphone strongholds are China and Europe. OPPO grew 55% QoQ, and Xiaomi increased 41% QoQ, both due to solid volumes at home in China. Meanwhile, Apple dipped 23% QoQ, following a blowout Q4 2020 where the new 5G iPhone was wildly popular as a gift during the holiday season.”

Woody Oh, Director at Strategy Analytics, added, “Samsung is growing very fast in 5G smartphones, but it does have a major portfolio gap in China. Samsung has extremely low presence in China, the world’s biggest 5G market, and this remains a significant drag on the vendor’s outlook. Conversely, Chinese vendors largely have no presence in the high value US market, and this will be a drag on their ability to grow revenue or profit.”

Check out the chart below for more details...