Global demand for the new iPhone X is set to help Apple overtake Samsung as the world’s top smartphone maker in the fourth quarter of the year, according to Taiwanese researcher TrendForce. Apple’s market share in the holiday quarter is set to surge from 11.5 percent in Q3 to 19.1 percent thanks to 81 million unit sales, a third of which will be the new iPhone X. Samsung, on the other hand, is expected to slightly scale back the production of its high-end models in the fourth quarter, leading to sales of 77 million, or 18.2 percent of the market, a 5 percent drop from the third quarter, predicted the study.
Chinese vendors Huawei, Oppo and Xiaomi are set to complete the top five after posting a combined 20 percent year-on-year growth in the third quarter. Huawei’s smartphone product volume is expected to reach a total of 45 million units in the fourth quarter for a 10.6 percent market share, followed by Oppo with 7.2 percent and Xiaomi with 6.6 percent.
The report added that fourth-quarter sales are expected to grow 10.5 percent from the third quarter, or 6.3 percent year on year, to 424,705 thanks to the year-end seasonal demand and strong sales of the latest iPhone devices.
