Apple’s share of the North American smartphone shipments hit 51% during the first calendar quarter of 2022, as the Cupertino firm shipped an estimated 20 million handsets during the quarter.
Shipment estimates that were shared on Thursday by Canalys shows iPhone shipments were up nearly 20% from the 17 million iPhones shipped in the year-ago quarter, and Apple’s market share hit 51%, up from 45%.
Apple was the number one smartphone vendor in North America, while Samsung grabbed the runner-up slot with 10.5 million smartphones shipped. Meanwhile, Lenovo was a distant third with 4 million smartphones shipped, while TCL, Google, and others shipped even fewer handsets. Apple, Google, and Lenovo saw market share growth during the quarter, while TCL, Samsung, and other smaller vendors did not.
Canalys says Apple’s growth in the marketplace is due to the popularity of the iPhone 13 lineup, which debuted in September 2021.
“The North American smartphone market has been buoyed by Apple’s strong growth,” said Canalys Analyst Brian Lynch. “This quarter, the iPhone 13’s high popularity was the key driver. With global demand more uncertain, Apple has shifted more devices back into North America after prioritizing other regions in Q4 2021, allowing it to greater fulfill demand and deliver on backorders from the previous quarter. In addition, the launch of the latest edition of the iPhone SE offers an affordable option for many of North America’s fiercely loyal iOS users. Despite not being mmWave-enabled, carriers’ increasing investments in C-band and sub-6GHz spectrums will open the door for the iPhone SE’s market growth in the coming quarters.”
The North American smartphone market reached 39 million units shipped in total, up 3.7% compared to last year.
Canalys believes supply chain issues will continue to be a problem for smartphone vendors, but the North American market is expected to take priority and “maintain healthy supply levels.”