According to Gartner, Apple’s iPhone sales surged in the final quarter of 2020, making it the best-selling smartphone in the world. Apple has not held that position since the fourth quarter of 2016, as the No. 1 spot globally has typically been claimed by Samsung.
Gartner estimates that Apple sold nearly 80 million iPhones in the fourth quarter, claiming almost 21% of market share. No. 2 Samsung sold more than 62 million phones, giving it just over 16% share for the quarter.
Apple’s surge comes despite a delayed launch date in late October for the iPhone 12 line due to the coronavirus pandemic. Samsung’s new Galaxy S21 lineup launched in mid-January.
Apple reported record sales of $111.4 billion during the fourth quarter of last year, the first time revenue passed the $100 billion mark, $65.6 billion of that was from iPhone sales.