Apple Maintains 5G Market Lead in Q1 2021 Despite Vivo and Samsung Gains

Apple shipped an estimated 40.4 million iPhone 12 devices during the first quarter of 2021, according to new data shared by Strategy Analytics. The figure suggests Apple has maintained its grip on the global 5G smartphone market, despite indicating a 23% dip compared to the fourth quarter of 2020, when Apple shipped 52.2 million units.

iPhone 12 Most Popular Feature
Apple enjoyed booming sales in the 5G market in the three months following the launch of in first 5G-equipped ‌iPhone‌ models, but since then its rivals have upped their game in an increasingly competitive premium smartphone market by releasing new 5G models.

Chinese vendor Oppo took second place in the same quarter, shipping 21.5 million units for a 15.8% market share, up 55% from the fourth quarter of last year. Fellow Sino-mobile maker Vivo managed to ship 19.4 million units, a 62% gain on the last quarter.

Samsung took fourth place with 17 million 5G handsets shipped, earning it just 12.5% of the market but a sizeable 79% growth on Q4 2020. Xiaomi shipped 16.6 million units during the quarter, taking 12.2% of the market, up 41% quarter-over-quarter.

q1 2021 5g market strategy analytics

"Samsung is performing well with new 5G models, such as Galaxy S21 5G, S21 ultra 5G and S21+ 5G, in South Korea, North America, and parts of Europe," said Ville-Petteri Ukonaho, associate director at Strategy Analytics. "Meanwhile, Apple dipped 23% QoQ, following a blowout Q4 2020 where the new 5G iPhone was wildly popular as a gift during the holiday season.

"We forecast global 5G smartphone shipments to reach a record 624 million units for the full-year 2021, soaring from 269 million in full-year 2020."

All of the iPhones in Apple's ‌iPhone‌ 12 lineup support 5G, but not all 5G networks are equal. There's the super fast mmWave (millimeter wave) 5G and the slower but more widespread sub-6GHz 5G.

Apple currently only sells the mmWave ‌iPhone‌ 12 in the United States, which allocates to only 30-35% of overall ‌‌iPhone‌ 12‌ shipments. However, support for sub-6Ghz 5G networks appears to have been enough to fuel the demand for ‌iPhone‌ 12 models more globally.

Apple is planning to increase the availability of 5G mmWave capable ‌iPhone‌ models to more countries around the world with the release of the ‌iPhone‌ 13 later this year, offering even more customers access to the faster and newer technology where the infrastructure is increasingly becoming more widely available, according to Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.

Tags: 5G, mmWave
Related Forum: iPhone

Popular Stories

Tim Cook Rainbow

Apple Event in October? Here's What to Expect

Monday September 29, 2025 9:31 am PDT by
Apple's annual iPhone event is in the rearview mirror, but rumors suggest the company plans to release a handful of additional products before the year ends. Will there be another Apple event this October? We discuss the possibility below. Apple in October Apple's most recent October events were in 2021 and 2023. In 2022 and 2024, Apple did not host an October event. Instead, it...
apple wallet drivers license feature iPhone 15 pro teal 1

Apple's iPhone Driver's License Feature Now Available in 11 U.S. States

Tuesday September 30, 2025 6:40 am PDT by
In select U.S. states, residents can add their driver's license or state ID to the Wallet app on the iPhone and Apple Watch, providing a convenient and contactless way to display proof of identity or age at select airports and businesses, and in select apps. Apple recently revealed that the feature would soon be available in North Dakota, and starting today, the feature has officially gone...
space black mbp

Here's Every New Apple Product That Leaked Yesterday

Wednesday October 1, 2025 8:27 am PDT by
A handful of upcoming Apple products leaked yesterday, through a combination of YouTube videos out of Russia and U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) documents that were released, despite Apple's confidentiality requests. The leaked products include an iPad Pro with an M5 chip, as well as updated MacBook Pro and Apple Vision Pro models. All of these devices had already been rumored...
maxresdefault

New iPad Pro With M5 Chip Leaked in Unboxing Video

Tuesday September 30, 2025 8:39 am PDT by
An apparent unboxing video for an unannounced iPad Pro with the M5 chip was uploaded to YouTube today by Russian channel Wylsacom. The same YouTube account leaked the 14-inch MacBook Pro with the M4 chip before it was announced by Apple last year, so this is likely a legitimate leak. Based on the box shown in the video, this appears to be a 13-inch iPad Pro with an M5 chip, 256GB of...
fcc vision pro leak

FCC Accidentally Leaks Apple's Next Vision Pro

Tuesday September 30, 2025 3:48 pm PDT by
The United States Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has seemingly confirmed Apple's work on an updated version of the Vision Pro headset. One of several documents the FCC shared today references an Apple-designed "Head Mounted Device" with a model number of A3416. An included image confirms the device is a Vision Pro. The FCC's uploads are transmission tests, SAR test reports, and...
macbook pro prime day 2025

FCC Leaks Upcoming MacBook Pro and More

Tuesday September 30, 2025 1:58 pm PDT by
The United States Federal Communications Commission has confirmed Apple's work on a new version of the MacBook Pro and several other products, leaking details on the devices ahead of launch. The FCC published documents that reference model numbers that do not correspond with existing devices. A3434, for example, references an unreleased MacBook Pro, while other numbers are likely for...
iOS 26 Feature

iOS 26.1 to iOS 26.4 Will Add These New Features to Your iPhone

Wednesday October 1, 2025 1:26 pm PDT by
iOS 26 was released last month, but the software train never stops, and iOS 26.1 beta testing is already underway. So far, iOS 26.1 makes both Apple Intelligence and Live Translation on compatible AirPods available in additional languages, and it includes some other minor changes across Apple Music, Calendar, Photos, and Safari. More features and changes will follow in future versions,...
iPhone 17 vs Air and Pros Feature

New iPhones See 'Stronger Than Expected' Demand With One Exception

Thursday October 2, 2025 7:26 am PDT by
Nearly two weeks after the iPhone 17 series launched, analysts at investment banking firm Morgan Stanley said demand for the devices has been "modestly stronger than we originally expected," based on a combination of extended shipping estimates on Apple's online store and information it gathered from Apple's supply chain. There has been strong early demand for the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro,...
Apple 2025 Thumb 1

Apple's 2025 Product Roadmap: What's Still Coming

Wednesday October 1, 2025 3:56 pm PDT by
Apple's two big yearly events, WWDC and the iPhone launch, are done and over with, but there are still some new products that we're expecting to see before the end of the year. Apple TV The Apple TV hasn't been updated since 2022, so it's due for a refresh. It doesn't look like Apple is going to change the design of its set-top box, but we can expect a faster chip Apple code suggests...
iOS 26

Apple Releases iOS 26.0.1 With Fixes for Wi-Fi, Cellular, and Camera Issues on iPhone 17 Models

Monday September 29, 2025 10:12 am PDT by
Apple today released iOS 26.0.1 and iPadOS 26.0.1, the first updates to the iOS 26 and iPadOS 26 operating systems that came out earlier this week. The new software can be downloaded on eligible iPhones and iPads over-the-air by going to Settings > General > Software Update. According to Apple's release notes for the update, iOS 26.0.1 addresses a bug that could cause aberrations in...

Top Rated Comments

dabi Avatar
56 months ago
Tfw I still haven't used the 5G connectivity on my 12 Pro Max even once. :D But considering my carrier's 4G goes beyond 100 mb/s I don't think I'm missing out on that much.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
steve09090 Avatar
56 months ago
Remember when people said Apple were taking too long to add 5G and that Android opposition are going to be way ahead… well….
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
velocityg4 Avatar
56 months ago

All of the iPhones in Apple's iPhone 12 lineup support 5G, but not all 5G networks are equal. There's the super fast mmWave (millimeter wave) 5G and the slower but more widespread sub-6GHz 5G.

Apple currently only sells the mmWave iPhone 12 in the United States, which allocates to only 30-35% of overall ‌iPhone 12‌ shipments. However, support for sub-6Ghz 5G networks appears to have been enough to fuel the demand for iPhone 12 models more globally.

I really don't think this matters to most buyers. They don't know what any of this means. All they know is 5G is a higher number than 4G. Thus it must be better and faster.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ToadyBlegh Avatar
56 months ago
I just got my second COVID vax and the 5g is AMAZING. Really makes everything better.

Seriously, though, we have almost full rollout of fast 5g in my area and I haven't noticed any different. I don't really use my phone for complex processing in the cloud or whatever and haven't noticed any massive improvement, even in watching videos or playing on-line games. Fast internet makes sense for a personal computer but, seriously, how many people need a 10 gig connection speed on their phone? Most of the issues it technically solves for, like network slicing and latency, were networks issues that could have been solved at a network level. Sadly, many of those network challenges will remain because most network providers are terrible and take you for granted.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
IceStormNG Avatar
56 months ago
There's barely any 5G here. Most is 5G with LTE anchor which, ahah, the iPhone doesn't support.

But anyway. LTE is fast enough for me (about 200MB/s). 5G is nice on paper... but it doesn't add a lot of benefit. Especially considering the battery impact it has.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Absolute Trainwreck Avatar
56 months ago
We’ve all switched back to LTE. We found that when 5G works it works quite well but for whatever reason it seemed like 25% of the time even with full bars we wouldn’t be able to load data.

I’m sure it’s just a matter of time just like it was with LTE but 5G just doesn’t matter (yet).
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)