Apple and Samsung have been historically switching places at the top due to their release cycles. Apple’s iPhones are announced at the end of the year (late Q3 or early Q4), while Samsung’s flagship Galaxy S model usually comes in the third quarter of the following year.

According to the latest numbers from Canalys, Samsung has managed to overtake Apple in terms of global smartphone shipments for the first quarter of 2021.

In addition to how the release cycle favors this, Samsung also hit a home run by dramatically cutting prices for the Galaxy S21, in some cases by as much as $200, distancing itself from the iPhone 12 price-wise.

76.5 million units shipped by Samsung make up for 22 percent market share, while Apple in second place accounts for 52.4 million iPhones, representing 15 percent market share.

Third comes Xiaomi closely behind Apple with ts 49.0 million units, followed by OPPO and vivo with 37.6 million and 36 million units, respectively.

“Supply of critical components, such as chipsets, has quickly become a major concern, and will hinder smartphone shipments in the coming quarters“, said Ben Stanton, Canalys Research Manager.

With LG recently out of the smartphone game, its 80 percent share in the Americas will leave the door open for companies like Motorola, TCL, Nokia, and ZTE, in order to fill the void that has been generated.