Samsung Electronics Corporation Limited has once again overtaken Apple in the race to become the world's largest smartphone maker.
Samsung's sales in the first quarter of this year accounted for one-fifth of global mobile phone sales, according to Reuters.
Market research firm Canals said China's Xiaomi Corporation also ranked third among mobile companies in terms of sales.
In the first quarter of the year, sales of Xiaomi's phones increased by 62% to 49 million, while its shares also increased by 14%.
In the first quarter of the year, after the Chinese economy fully recovered and the Corona vaccine campaign was launched in the United States, global mobile phone sales rose 27% to 347 million units.
South Korean mobile company Samsung sold 76.5 million smartphones in the quarter, boosting its market share by 22%.
According to the company, higher sales of the Galaxy S21 smartphone series led to a 66% increase in Samsung's profits.
Canals said Apple sold 52.4 million iPhones between January and March, after which the company came in second with 15 percent market share.
However, analyst Varun Mishra said that Apple has still managed to gain record market share in the United States, China, India and Japan.
Outbreaks of the Corona virus have led to an increase in smartphone sales since last year when lockdowns forced people to stay home and work from home.
However, the increase also led to a global shortage of semiconductor chips.
"The supply of key equipment, such as chipsets, is a major concern that will hamper smartphone sales in the next quarter," said Ben Stanton, a Canalys analyst.
Sales of China's Oppo and Vivo brands also rose in the quarter, but the former number one mobile company, which faced US sanctions, ranked seventh after selling its brand owner.
