Apple's iPhone 12 release will relegate Samsung to third place in the 5G smartphone market
iPhone 12 Pro concept
Getting off to a strong start in a market segment as important as 5G smartphones was obviously a great thing for Samsung, but being first is not everything, as the Korean tech giant is likely to learn the hard way in just a few months.
Will Apple be able to edge out Huawei too?
The regional hero was close to seizing the world’s 5G smartphone shipment title during the first three months of 2020, looking pretty much guaranteed to snatch Samsung’s 5G smartphone production crown away at the end of the year.
2021 could change the status quo… again
China’s importance in the grand scheme of 5G things will also be reflected in the fight between Vivo, Oppo, and Xiaomi for the industry’s fourth and fifth spots, with overall production projected to reach 235 million units this year.
That would mean almost one in five smartphones produced in 2020 will support 5G connectivity, a number that’s obviously expected to surge in 2021. If TrendForce’s predictions come true, a whopping 500 million 5G-enabled smartphones are set to be manufactured next year, representing a 40 percent slice of the mobile industry’s total global pie.
The Galaxy A71 is one of the world’s most affordable 5G smartphones… for the time being
It remains to be seen if Apple will manage to stay ahead of Samsung, considering a large part of that jump from 235 to 500 million units is likely to come from low-to-mid-end devices, which are not exactly Cupertino’s greatest strength.