Apple becomes world's biggest smartphone seller in fourth-quarter

Apple Inc cornered nearly a quarter of the global smartphone market in the fourth quarter, making it the world's biggest seller, while shipments for Huawei plunged after it was hit by U.S. sanctions.

Data from research firm IDC showed Apple's shipments surged 22% in 90.1 million phones in the quarter, giving it global market share of 23.4%, and marking a record for the company.

The U.S. tech giant reported record holiday quarter sales on Wednesday, with revenue crossing $100 billion for the first time. Sales in Greater China, which includes Hong Kong and Taiwan, surged 57% over the quarter.


Its iPhone 12 series, released last October, marked its first 5G-enabled devices.

Huawei shipments tumbled 42.4% in the quarter to 32.3 million, IDC said.