Apple grabbed top spot in the battle for smartphone sales during Q4 2020, as its iPhone 12 5G line helped it to surpass Samsung and reach the summit for the first time in four years, Gartner figures showed.

Gartner stated it found Apple sold 79.9 million iPhones in the final three months of 2020, a 14.9 per cent year-on-year increase and besting Samsung’s 62.1 million units, which were down 11.8 per cent.

Xiaomi recorded a 33.9 per cent increase to take third spot with 43.4 million smartphones sold and Oppo was fourth, up 12.8 per cent to 34.4 million.

Huawei rounded out the top five, selling 34.3 million smartphones, a 41.1 per cent decline.

Gartner said the launch of the 5G iPhone 12 series helped Apple record double-digit growth to top the table for the first time since Q4 2016.

Overall, global smartphone sales declined 5.4 per cent to 384.6 million.

Senior research director at Gartner Anshul Gupta noted sales of more 5G smartphones and low- to mid-tier devices minimised the market decline, but consumers remained cautious in their spending “and held off on some discretionary purchases”.

Gupta believes the availability of lower-end 5G smartphones and innovative features will be “decided factors” for end users to upgrade in 2021, as will growing demand for affordable 5G devices outside of China.