iPhone 12 / 12 Pro captured nearly one-fourth of total 5G smartphone sales in October

The demand for the iPhone 12 series is likely to remain strong through the fourth quarter of this year, especially during the festive season in December, and the strong sales will maintain the momentum of the series in early 2021 as well.

Apple's latest flagship, the iPhone 12, became the world's best-selling 5G smartphone in October 2020, beating Samsung's Galaxy Note 20 Ultra 5G which was the best-selling 5G device in September, according to research firm Counterpoint.

Together, the iPhone 12 and the iPhone 12 Pro which was the second best-selling 5G model for the month captured close to one-fourth of the total 5G smartphone sales (24%) in October, despite being on sale for just two weeks.

According to the report, several factors including a large pent-up demand for the 5G upgrade, especially within the iOS base, and strong carrier promos drove this huge initial uptick for the iPhone 12 series during the month of October. With availability in over 140 countries, the iPhone 12 has a wider market coverage as compared to most of the other 5G models which have a regional presence.

Further, Counterpoint noted that the iPhone 12 series has also given a push to mmWave, thereby increasing the penetration of mmWave capable smartphones from 5% in September to 12% in October.

The demand for the iPhone 12 series is likely to remain strong through the fourth quarter of this year, especially during the festive season in December, and the strong sales will maintain the momentum of the series in early 2021 as well. This will help Apple drive the volumes in the premium segment.

Meanwhile, the Huawei Nova 7 5G, Huawei P40 5G, Oppo A72 5G, and Huawei P40 Pro 5G also made it to the list of 'global top 10 5G smartphones', with each of the model capturing a 3% market share in October. Furthermore, the Samsung Galaxy Note 20 5G, Galaxy S20 Plus 5G and Oppo Reno 4 SE captured a 2% market share each.