According to the latest research report from Strategy Analytics, global smartphone shipments grew +11% YoY in Q2 2021, with the volume of 314.2 million units. This is the second highest annual growth rate (behind Q1 2021's +28% YoY growth rate) recent years, benefiting from the favorable compare.

Apple delivered a record high second quarter. It shipped 47.4 million units of iPhones globally and captured 15.1% market share. Emerging markets are playing an increasing role in Apple's global map. We estimate China has overtaken the USA being the largest single market for Apple iPhone this quarter, for the first time ever. 5G enabled iPhone 12 series continued to be well received by loyalty iPhone fans in this country.

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Samsung maintained the leading position with 18.2% market share. However, Samsung registered the lowest annual growth rate (+5.4% YoY) among top 5 vendors. Strategy Analytics believes that the intensified competition from rising Chinese vendors and the supply constrain both impacted the performance of Samsung this quarter.

Xiaomi jumped into the top 2 list for the first time ever. It shipped 52.8 million units of smartphones worldwide in Q2 2021 and took 16.8% market share. Among all top 5 vendors, Xiaomi registered the highest annual growth rate (+85.3% YoY). Xiaomi quickly and successfully seized the opportunities from the withdrawal of LG in Latin America, and Huawei's fallout in Europe region. For more read the full Strategy Analytics report.

In another analytical report today by Canalys they noted that "Apple saw blockbuster revenue growth for iPhone."

Canalys Research Analyst Le Xuan Chiew, on Apple: "The big difference here is the mix of iPhones selling,” said “Apple launched the low-cost iPhone SE in April 2020, which accounted for 28% of its mix at that time. This year, with no new iPhone SE, its average selling price increased drastically. In addition, its iPhone 12 mini is underperforming against channel expectations despite wholesale discounting, and the iPhone 12 Pro models have become a particularly high mix, at 37%. For comparison, last year, the iPhone 11 Pro models accounted for 17% of iPhones."

Chiew added that "Apple, like all brands, will run into component headwinds in H2 2021. But its scale has significant weight with supply chain partners, and it will not suffer to the same extent as smaller rivals. It also has hardware margin to play with, should it choose to absorb the cost of component price rises, where some of its rivals may be forced to tweak pricing to maintain profitability."

The Canalys report clashed with the one from Strategy Analytics. Canalys only listed Apple having 1% growth whereas Strategy Analytics chart claimed that Apple delivered 15.3% growth Year-over-Year. You could read the Canalys report here.

During Apple's financial conference call late on Tuesday, CEO Tim Cook stated: "For iPhone, this quarter saw very strong double digit growth in each geographic segment, and we continue to be heartened by customers response to the iPhone 12 lineup." In that light, the report by Canalys seems to be out to lunch.