The biggest smartphone maker

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) has risen to first place on the list of the world's largest smartphone makers by number of devices sold in the fourth quarter for the first time since 2016. That's according to data from research firm Gartner.

It is worth noting that Apple sold almost 80 million smartphones in the last three months of last year. The company's market share for the quarter was 20.8%. The increase compared to the fourth quarter before last year was 14.9%.

Analysts say that the positive trend for Apple is due to the launch of the iPhone with 5G. It will continue into the first quarter of 2021, which is the new year in China and therefore the gift-giving season, and in the months ahead as the economy recovers.

However, Samsung (KS:005930) slipped to second place. The company managed to sell almost 12% fewer smartphones in the fourth quarter compared to the end of the year before. Samsung sold 62 million devices accounting for 16.2% of the market. Third and fourth place went to China's Xiaomi (HK:1810) and Oppo. Xiaomi added 33.9% of sales for the year, while Oppo added 12.9%. Huawei (SZ:002502) came in fifth. Its sales were down 41% compared with the end of 2019.