Apple has beaten Samsung for the first time in four years to emerge as the top smartphone vendor. The information comes from a new report by Gartner, which says that the Cupertino tech giant sold more smartphones than Samsung in the fourth quarter of 2020. Apple is selling more iPhones and generating higher profits, which is bad news for the South Korean major Samsung.

iPhone sales hit 79.9 million versus Samsung’s 62.1 million in the final three months of 2020. Apple had a 20.8 per cent market share during the fourth quarter, while Samsung had a 16.2 per cent share. Although Samsung was the number one smartphone vendor as of the whole of 2020, its sales fell by a 14.6 per cent. In comparison, Apple saw a year-on-year growth of 14.9 per cent.

Apple overall fared well compared with its competition in the competitive smartphone market. Smartphone sales in the fourth quarter actually declined to 5.4 per cent, according to the market research agency.

Guide: How to buy an iPhone in 2021

iPhone 12 sales continue to grow

The success of the iPhone 12 series is the reason behind Apple’s market domination in the fourth quarter. It appears that more consumers are choosing iPhones over Android smartphones from Samsung and OnePlus. Apple decided to launch a 5G-enabled iPhone proved pivotal for the company as well as for the smartphone market. The fact that the iPhone 12 series is well received shows Apple’s brand image to persuade consumers to spend $1000 on a new smartphone.

Over the years, Apple’s iPhone lineup has become stronger. Last year, Apple released four models in the iPhone 12 series and a budget iPhone SE. The iPhone 12 series support 5G wireless technology as well as let you capture and edit 4K HDR video. When the iPhone 12 lineup was released in October, experts predicted Apple’s 5G iPhones might trigger a new “supercycle” of phone upgrades in the company’s popular markets like China and the US.