Subrat Patnaik and Aniruddha Gosh

(Reuters) – Apple Inc (NASDAQ) has been gaining market share in its smartphone business as it navigates through a global chips crunch more efficiently than the other manufacturers of mobile phones.

Apple’s iPhone sales increased by at least 3.3% in the third quarter. However, overall smartphone shipments decreased by about 6.6% as a result of the chip shortage according to Counterpoint, IDC, and Canalys data.

The shipment numbers are a good indicator of which customers like, given the tight security that tech companies have with smartphone sales data.

Tarun Pathak, Counterpoint analyst said that Apple is expecting another strong quarter and that they will take 20% of the Q4 shipment shares.

Apple, despite the fact that it has a large purchasing power and long term supply agreements with chip suppliers, has fared better in the supply crunch than most other companies. This is despite the fact that iPhone 13 production was cut short by closures in Asia as well as high demand during the second half.

According to Canalys analyst Ben Stanton: “Shortages at the lowest end are worse, so Apple has less exposure than most of its competitors, because it skews heavily towards premium.”

Counterpoint reported that the third quarter revenue was driven by shipments of higher-end phones, which reached a record $100 Billion.

The Cupertino, California-based company’s supply prowess was displayed in China https://www.reuters.com/technology/huawei-spin-off-brand-honor-enters-top-three-china-shipment-ranking-research-2021-10-28 where it posted a staggering 83% annual sales growth last quarter, remaining one of top choices for big spenders in the world’s second-largest economy.

Apple saw an increase in shipments during the third quarter. However, market leader Samsung Electronics and competitor Xiaomi (OTC) Corp experienced a decline as consumers were attracted by price reductions for the iPhone 12 series.