Apple's iPhone 12 product is on sale at a store in Hanoi, November 2020.
Photo by VnExpress/Luu Quy. 

Apple surpassed VinSmart to become the fourth largest smartphone brand in Q4 of 2020 as sales of iPhone 12 surged. 

With a market share of 11 percent, it was behind China’s Vivo (13 percent), which climbed two places from the previous quarter, Singaporean technology market analysis firm Canalys said in a recent note.

South Korea’s Samsung stayed on top with a 24 percent market share followed by China’s Oppo (16 percent), but their sales plummeted by 19 percent and 28 percent year-on-year.

Apple sales grew at 197 percent.

Hundreds of people queued up in front of Apple stores to become the earliest owners of iPhone 12 late last year.

Almost 10 smartphone brands have been vying for third place in recent years, with Apple, Xiaomi and Vivo the most notable names. None has remained in that position for more than six months.

Around 75 million people, or almost 80 percent of the population, use smartphones, according to We Are Social, a social media marketing and advertising agency.