Apple Overtook Xiaomi in Q3 for No. 2 Smartphone Share: IDC

Supply chain bottlenecks and chip shortages forced a 6.7% decline in Q3 global smartphone shipments to 331.2 million handsets, reported IDC Thursday. Though a slight decline was expected in the seasonally low quarter, the actual decline was more than twice the projected rate, it said. "Supply chain and component shortage issues have finally caught up to the smartphone market, which until now seemed almost immune to this issue despite its adverse impact on many other adjacent industries," said analyst Nabila Popal. “Stricter testing and quarantining policies are delaying transportation, and power supply constraints in China are restricting manufacturing of key components. Despite all efforts to mitigate the impact, all major vendors' production targets for the fourth quarter have been adjusted downwards.” IDC doesn't expect “supply-side” improvement until “well into next year," said Popal. Samsung maintained the top position with 20.8% global share, but Apple leapfrogged Xiaomi to No. 2 with a 20.8% year-over-year increase in iPhone unit shipments, to Xiaomi’s 4.6% decline, said IDC.