The iPhone Returns To The Top

From LinkedIn News: “Apple sold more iPhones than any other smartphone maker in the world in the final quarter of 2020, according to Gartner data, securing the top position for the first time in four years. The tech giant sold nearly 80 million iPhones in the fourth quarter, marking a 15% increase over the same period in 2019, despite an overall 5% decline in worldwide smartphone sales. It’s a sign that the new 5G iPhone 12 series “is a hit in the marketplace,” according to CNBC, heating up competition with Samsung, which sold more smartphones over the full year”.

Yes, the king is back. Apple became top smartphone vendor in 4Q 2020 and surpassed Huawei to move into No. 2 spot in full year 2020 results. According to Gartner, a consultancy, the launch of the 5G iPhone 12 series helped Apple record double-digit growth in the fourth quarter of 2020. Apple surpassed Samsung to retake the No. 1 global smartphone vendor spot. The last time Apple was the top smartphone vendor was in the fourth quarter for 2016.

Huawei had ruled the game before the massive attack from the US government. It may be a while before the company recovers. They have since diversified into pig business.

So, with no option, Huawei has moved into pig farming and improving  the mining sector with technologies. Certainly, those ones do not require the precision required in modern smartphones. But this game is not over: China is planning to ban the export of rare earth metals to the United States as a retaliation for cutting Huawei out of the global chip supply chain. If that happens, you can indeed make the designs but will struggle with materials to fabricate the chips. Of course, unlike CAD systems, the US has options on the materials which can be sourced from other areas, though at a higher cost.

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