Apple claims first spot in the Chinese smartphone market in Q4

After a recent survey confirmed Apple's dominant position on its home US market, statistics now show that China has been conquered as well. Market analyst Canalys reports that the Cupertino giant is in top spot by units shipped in Q4 2014, a first for the company.

Apple's sales in the country have so far been hindered by the company's reluctance to move to a larger screen size, apparently a must for Chinese users. With the new generation addressing that issue, picky Chinese customers were left with one less reason to complain. Apple has also been able to reduce the grey imports from Hong Kong, which have previously impacted the numbers in China.

Additionally, the September launch of the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus is in favor of Apple, as the devices were riding the wave of that brand-new-iPhone hype during the surveyed period. We'll have to wait and see how they fare once the market settles down and Xiaomi flagships start shipping.

Moving down the chart, Apple is followed by Xiaomi, Samsung and Huawei, but no actual figures were revealed.