According to reports Samsung, the South Korean electronics giant, is back on top as the world’s biggest smartphone seller 3 months after losing its spot to China-based Huawei.
The news comes just as Samsung reported its highest quarterly sales figures ever, which was supported by an increase in smartphone demand, the company said.
Three months ago, Huawei became the number one smartphone seller for the first time, benefiting from strong sales in China, even though much of the rest of the world was working under restricted conditions due to COVID-19. However, according to data, Huawei’s shipments dropped 7 percent quarter on quarter and 24 percent year on year, while Samsung’s shipments rose by 47 percent over the last year.
For the first time in many years, Xiaomi was able to reclaim the number three position, overtaking Apple with a 46 percent growth year-on-year. In the July-September quarter, Apple’s shipments dropped 7 percent year-on-year, no doubt impacted by the fact that its latest iPhone 12 release got delayed until October.
Chinese brands Oppo, Vivo and Realme earned the fifth, sixth and seventh spots. Some analysts have put Oppo at number five, while some others give Vivo that spot, but all three companies agree that the numbers are close. If the third-quarter shipments of the three independent brands were combined, they would be closer to Samsung in first place than to Huawei in second place.
Samsung’s Q3 performance
For the period between July and September 2020, Samsung announced its quarterly earnings, achieving $59 billion in revenue and $11 billion in operating profit. For the Korean electronics company, this is the highest quarterly sales figure ever, which says it was able to meet an increase in consumer demand after the disruptions caused by COVID-19.
However, due to an expected decline in memory demand and higher competition in the smartphone industry, Samsung warns of lower profits in the coming quarter which will be calculated from October to December.
