Apple dethrones Samsung to claim top spot in global smartphone sales

Apple has once again become the top-selling smartphone brand in top market China, along with the rest of the world.

That's according to findings from two separate research reports, which come just before the tech giant is set to release its earnings for the most recent quarter.

A report by Counterpoint Research, published Wednesday, said Apple (AAPL) reached its "highest ever" market share in China in the three months to December. This is the first time in six years that the iPhone maker has hit the top spot in the country.

Apple's market share in China reached 23% in the last quarter of 2021, compared with 16% the same period the previous year. This surge came as total smartphone sales in China fell 9% year-on-year, according to Counterpoint.

Apple overtook the Chinese smartphone maker, Vivo, which slipped 6%, researchers said.

The "unprecedented" performance in China has helped Apple reclaim its position as the global market leader, according to a separate report published last week by Canalys, which did not break out its own measure of China sales data.

The research firm says that the US behemoth beat out Samsung (SSNLF) during the crucial holiday season, with each company's worldwide share at 22% and 20%, respectively.

"Apple is back at the top of the smartphone market after three quarters, driven by a stellar performance from the iPhone 13," Canalys analyst Sanyam Chaurasia wrote in the report.

"Apple saw unprecedented iPhone performance in mainland China, with aggressive pricing for its flagship devices keeping the value proposition strong."

The end of the year is typically a good time for the California-based giant, as it coincides with new device releases from the company's annual flagship September event. But Apple enjoyed a meteoric rise last quarter, as it quickly "rose to first place in China right after the iPhone 13 was released," according to Counterpoint Research analyst Mengmeng Zhang. Agencies

Apple planning to turn iPhones into payment terminals

Apple is planning a new service that will let small businesses accept payments directly on their iPhones without any extra hardware, according to people with knowledge of the matter. 

The company has been working on the new feature since around 2020, when it paid about $100 million for a Canadian startup called Mobeewave that developed technology for smartphones to accept payments with the tap of a credit card. The system will likely use the iPhone’s near field communications, or NFC, chip that is currently used for Apple Pay. (Bloomberg)