Apple recorded highest ever shipments in July-Sep, on track for best year yet: CMR

Apple recorded highest ever shipments in July-Sep, on track for best year yet: CMR

• By Staff Writer

Apple recorded highest ever shipments in July-Sep, on track for best year yet: CMR

New Delhi: Premium phone brand Apple has recorded its highest ever shipments in the July-September phase when Samsung dethroned Chinese rival Xiaomi in both smartphone and the overall handset markets, according to CyberMedia Research (CMR).

“Apple shipments grew remarkably by 67% YoY. It saw its highest quarterly shipments and captured 7th position in the top ten leaderboard on the back of the good demand for iPhone SE 2020 and iPhone 11. Both the models together contributed 91% of its shipments in Q3 2020,” the research firm said in its report.

'On the heels of the iPhone 12 launch, Apple is on track to have its best year yet," it added.

The September quarter also also saw record high shipments, up 14% on-year, according to CMR. Canalys and Counterpoint have reported 50 million and 53 million smartphone shipments for the said quarter, respectively.

CMR expects online sales channels to record more than 70% sales this festive season.

“During Q3 2020, the eCommerce Platforms grow their reach across India, by tying up with local stores. Consumers from Ambitional India, including Tier-II and Tier-III cities and towns, including first-time ecommerce shoppers, looked at shopping online, aided by the option to shop in vernacular languages. We anticipate online to drive >70% of the overall sales this festive season,” added Shipra Sinha, Analyst-Industry Intelligence Group (IIG), CMR.

Samsung, which lost the top spot to Xiaomi in Q3 2018, has grown by 18% whereas Xiaomi fell by 5%, CMR said. In the smartphone market Samsung now holds 23% share, ahead of Xiaomi’s 22%. Vivo, Realme and Oppo followed them with 16%, 15% and 10% shares, respectively.

In the smartphone plus feature phone market too, Samsung has appeared number one after a gap of three quarters.

“Xiaomi dropped down to second position with its shipments declining by 5% YoY on account of COVID-19 restrictions and supply chain issues,” CMR said.

While the smartphone market registered double-digit improvement on-year, the overall feature phone grew marginally by 2%, CMR said.