Apple on Course to Retake Second Place in Global Smartphone Vendor Ranking - MacRumorsOpen MenuShow RoundupsShow Forums menuVisit ForumsOpen Sidebar
Skip to Content

Apple on Course to Retake Second Place in Global Smartphone Vendor Ranking

by

Apple is on course to recapture second place from Huawei in the global smartphone vendor ranking in the fourth quarter of 2019, reports DigiTimes.

iphone 11 and 11 pro
The change in ranking is said to be a combined effect of strong sales of Apple's iPhone 11 lineup and the impact of Huawei's trade ban in the United States.

Despite being blacklisted by the U.S. government in the middle of the second quarter this year, Huawei has managed to ship 60 million handsets, which is around the same amount it shipped in the previous quarter, according to data from Gartner.

However, as the trade ban drags on, Huawei is expect to see sales slide over the second half of this year. Gartner estimates that shipments could fall to about 50 million units in the third quarter, before bouncing back to 60 million units going into the holiday period.

According to IDC, Apple shipped 36 million iPhones in Q1 2019. Sales are said to have dropped to 34 million in the second quarter, with an expected slide to 30 million units in Q3 as people waited for Apple's next-generation flagship devices, iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro, and iPhone 11 Pro Max.

But with reports of higher-than-expected sales of its iPhone 11 lineup both domestically and abroad, Apple could see its handset shipments reach 70 million units in the fourth quarter, which would exceed the 60 million units Huawei is expected to ship in Q4 2019.

Related Forum: iPhone

Top Rated Comments

realtuner Avatar
89 months ago

That's cute. Your uni city is not the whole country though.

It's a fact that iPhone penetration is very low in Germany compared to say US or Japan or even China and Australia and has been falling for years, only recently barely trending upwards.


There’s one HUGE flaw with those numbers. They represent device sales, not actual active users.

Someone buying $50 Android phones and throwing them out every 6-12 months (because it’s cheaper to buy another one than to bother fixing it) makes for a lot of sales but does nothing to increase your user base.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
itsmilo Avatar
89 months ago
Personal experience of course but I feel like „everyone“ in Germany is slowly switching to Huawei unless they got an iPhone from work
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
RickDEGH Avatar
89 months ago

Personal experience of course but I feel like „everyone“ in Germany is slowly switching to Huawei unless they got an iPhone from work
No, I don’t think so! In fact, I think the opposite is rather happening. I live in a university city and all I see on buses and trains and on the streets are iPhones. Matter of fact, I know folks who recently switched from Android devices to iPhones. A year ago I hardly ever saw anyone with one of the “notched” iPhones. Now it’s all I see.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
GuruZac Avatar
89 months ago
Boy, this is really a “boring and lackluster” year for iPhone... 😂 The naysayers have been pretty quiet lately.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
m0sher Avatar
89 months ago
Apple must be doing great this year.

They are slammed with pre orders.

I know this because my Pro Max Oct 1 preorder won’t be shipped until Oct 10-17th *sigh* at least by overnight shipping once it ships.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
RickDEGH Avatar
89 months ago

That's cute. Your uni city is not the whole country though.

It's a fact that iPhone penetration is very low in Germany compared to say US or Japan or even China and Australia and has been falling for years, only recently barely trending upwards.


You do realize that you showed a comparison between iOS = iPhones vs Android = quazillion OEMs? Also, my comment was in direct response to another comment about Huawei and iPhones.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

Foldable iPhone 2023 Feature 1

Foldable iPhone Still Faces Production Hurdles, Report Says

Thursday July 23, 2026 5:18 am PDT by
Apple's foldable iPhone still faces production hurdles that leave its exact launch timing undecided, according to a new report from DigiTimes, even as Foxconn carries out what supply chain sources describe as "final mass-production adjustments." The report says Apple has assigned Foxconn to lead the device from new product introduction (NPI) through to mass production, citing the assembler's ...
Apple Event Logo

Apple Working on All-New Operating System

Wednesday July 29, 2026 11:39 am PDT by
Apple is developing an all-new operating system that is essentially a mix of tvOS, watchOS, and iOS, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. In a report this week, he said the operating system will feature a grid of icons, widgets, and apps, along with customizable clock faces. The new software platform is intended for Apple's long-rumored smart home hub. With built-in facial recognition,...
imac video apple feature

Apple Made Its Second-Biggest Acquisition Ever This Year

Wednesday July 29, 2026 12:03 pm PDT by
Apple this year acquired Israeli startup Q.ai for close to $2 billion, according to the Financial Times. That would make this Apple's second-biggest acquisition ever, after it paid $3 billion for the popular headphone maker Beats in 2014. This is also the largest known Apple acquisition since the company purchased Intel's smartphone modem business and patents for $1 billion in 2019. Q.ai...

🔗 Related Apple News & Rumors

Stay updated with the latest Apple ecosystem news and verified rumors