The iPhone maker Apple Inc has been able to fare the global semiconductor shortage much better than other mobile phone makers and has as a consequence been able to claw into the other mobile phone makers of its competitors, as is evident from analysis of data providers.

According to data from market research firms Counterpoint, IDC and Canalys, during the third quarter of the current quarter, Apple has managed to gain an additional 3 per cent market share in global smartphones thanks to increased shipments of its iPhones, even while the overall shipment of products of the company actually fell by 6 per cent because of the global shortage of semiconductor chips.

The figure of number of smartphones shipped is the best indication of the brand that customers prefer simply because most of the smartphone makers and tech companies closely guard smartphone sales data.

“We are expecting another massive quarter for Apple and our expectation is they’ll take a similar 20% shipment share in calendar year Q4,” Counterpoint analyst Tarun Pathak said.

The huge leverage that it enjoys over suppliers and its extensive purchasing power as well as its long term supply agreements with semiconductor chip vendors has helped Apple to navigate the chip supply crunch much better than many other companies, even closures of factories in Asia and high demand in the second half of the year has impacted the production of iPhone 13.

“Shortages are worst at the low-end, so Apple is less exposed than many of its competitors because it skews heavily toward premium,” Ben Stanton, analyst at Canalys, told Reuters.

According to Counterpoint, in the third quarter, the revenues of the company reached a record high of $100 billion because of the shipments of pricier phones of the company.

In China, the Cupertino, California-based company managed to record a staggering 83 per cent annual sale in the recently completed quarter which exhibited the supply dominance of the company in China. In this second largest economy of the world, market Apple remained amongst the first choices for big spending customers. 

During the third quarter, while the shipments of iPhones saw an increase, there was a drop in the shipments by the market leader Samsung Electronics and rival Xiaomi Corp, as consumers were reportedly attracted by the cut in prices for the iPhone 12 series as well as the additional features of the faster processor and bigger camera that the company has incorporated in its latest iPhone 13 devices.

(Adapted from USNews.com)