Apple was — temporarily — the third-largest smartphone brand in August

Apple and Samsung bitterly compete with each other to be the top smartphone brand in the world in terms of market share. Both companies do top sales lists, with the lead exchanging throughout the year.

However, according to a research note from Counterpoint Research seen by AppleInsider, Apple slipped down to third place. The Chinese vendor Xiaomi saw enough growth and Apple saw enough of a dip in August for the two to switch positions.

The note says that Xiaomi's sales remained flat month-on-month, but it was enough to beat Apple's seasonal decline to take third place. This isn't Xiaomi's first time beating Apple, as it last did so in August 2021.

Xiaomi's success with promotions-led growth in Latin America helped the company maintain its sales, as well as aggressive growth in successive quarters. But the note adds that Apple's sales are a factor.

With new iPhone models traditionally introduced in September, sales simply dry up in August as consumers await the latest releases. Counterpoint admits that August is Apple's "weakest month in a given calendar year," with seasonality a major factor for its hardware sales performance.

This was demonstrated in August, with a report into U.S. smartphone sales revealing a 4% year-on-year shrink in August to a 49% share. Even so, Apple continued to enjoy massive iPhone sales for the rest of the year, with the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Pro Max the top-selling devices in the world for the second quarter of 2024.

Considering the usual sales boost Apple gets in September and over the following months, the analysts are confident that Apple will recapture second place rapidly. With historic form against Samsung, it may also get back into first place again thanks to the iPhone 16.