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By Zaheer Kachwala
(Reuters) -Apple took the top spot for global smartphone sales in the first quarter on the back of the iPhone 16e's launch and strong demand in countries such as Japan and India, data from Counterpoint Research showed on Monday.
Apple had 19% of the smartphone market, despite flat or declining sales in the U.S., Europe and China, followed by Samsung with 18% of the market, according to Counterpoint.
The data suggests iPhone demand remains strong in emerging markets, even as sales struggle in China due to competition from local players such as Huawei and a lack of AI features.
Separately, International Data Corporation, which primarily tracks shipments rather than sales to consumers, said global smartphone shipments rose 1.5% in the first quarter, with Apple front-loading supply to sidestep potential tariffs under U.S. President Donald Trump.
Apple's shares were up around 3.5%.
Trump's back-and-forth tariffs and escalation of global trade tensions has resulted in global financial market turmoil for the past two weeks, a worsening economic outlook and the possibility of stronger inflation.
Apple had chartered cargo flights to ferry 600 tons of iPhones, or as many as 1.5 million, to the United States from India in an effort to beat the tariffs.
However, Trump's decision to exclude smartphones, computers and some other electronics from the sweeping reciprocal duties on China led to a rise in global tech shares on Monday.
"The recent exemption by the U.S. government pausing smartphone import tariffs from China offers temporary relief for U.S. companies, but heavy reliance on China's supply chain persists amid ongoing tariff volatility," said Ryan Reith, group vice president, worldwide device trackers, IDC.
"Right now, the focus for U.S. smartphone brands should be taking advantage of the exemption by building and shipping as much as possible."
Counterpoint, which expects the smartphone market to decline this year due to tariff-related uncertainty, said Xiaomi continued its sales momentum in third place, while Vivo took the fourth spot and OPPO was fifth.
(Reporting by Zaheer Kachwala and Arsheeya Bajwa in Bengaluru; Editing by Krishna Chandra Eluri)
