Market research firm Canalys announced that Samsung Electronics has successfully claimed the top position from its American rival Apple as the largest smartphone producer in the world, achieving one-fifth of global sales in the first quarter of the year. Chinese company Xiaomi Corp had its best quarterly performance ever, increasing its shipments by 62% to 49 million phones, and also raised its market share to 14%, securing the third position globally after Samsung and Apple.
Overall, global sales increased by 27% to 347 million units in the first quarter, driven by the reopening of the Chinese economy and the lifting of lockdown measures following the pandemic, along with a rapid vaccination campaign in the United States, which heightened hopes for an economic recovery. According to Canalys, Samsung shipped 76.5 million smartphones in the first quarter, capturing a market share of 22%. The company announced today a 66% increase in its quarterly profits in the mobile division, attributed to strong sales of its premium Galaxy S21 smartphone series. Canalys reported that Apple shipped 52.4 million iPhones between January and March, dropping to second place with a market share of 15%.
