Smartphone sales reportedly slumped 6.8% year-on-year in the third quarter as ongoing supply chain problems prevented manufacturers from meeting consumer demand amid dwindling inventories.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to Gartner’s recent study of the global smartphone market, supply shortages in chip components such as radiofrequency and power management chips led to production failures worldwide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This hit all major smartphone manufacturers hard, resulting in sales of just over 342 million units, a significant decline from the 366 million shipments in the third quarter of 2020.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Samsung, which also makes its own chip components, remained in the lead with a 20.2% market share, even though its market share would shrink by 1.9% in 2020. The Korean electronics giant’s smartphone sales were boosted by its premium smartphone lines, particularly its latest foldable smartphone updates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Apple reclaimed the second spot, dethroning Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi by capturing 14.1% of the market, up from 3.1% in 2020. The tech giant owes this success to its combination of the launches of the iPhone 13 and iPhone 13 Pro.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Despite the third place, Xiaomi grew 0.9% to 13% of total sales, according to Gartner, mainly due to growing partnerships with European and Middle Eastern telecommunications service providers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Xiaomi’s fellow Chinese smartphone makers Vivo and OPPO round out the top five, with Vivo showing the most notable growth on the list, taking 10.5% of the market and finishing in fourth place. Growth was driven largely by robust sales in European and Middle Eastern markets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This impressive performance broke the band it shared with OPPO in 2020. OPPO also grew, albeit more subdued, ending the quarter with 9.8% of all shipments for fifth place.<\/p>\n\n\n