iPhone sales plummeted into third place over the summer

The iPhone will be forced into a game of catch-up this fall.

For the first time ever, Apple this summer was surpassed in smartphone unit sales by Chinese handset maker Huawei — leaving Apple’s iPhone in third place while bitter rival Samsung maintains a healthy lead, according to a Wednesday report.

Huawei has yet to make inroads into the US, but it had long been the third-biggest handset maker in the world thanks to strong sales in China, Europe and Latin America.

A surge for Huawei, coupled with stagnating sales by Apple, resulted in the Chinese company capturing a greater percentage of the market in both June and July, according to a Wednesday report by Counterpoint Research.

Counterpoint did not release its raw figures, but a chart it shared showed Huawei capturing around 12% of the market in June while Apple had close to 9%. In July the companies were neck and neck at 12%, with Huawei leading by a hair.

The research firm also reports that August also likely saw Huawei move more units than Apple — pointing to an unprecedented three-month slide for the Cupertino-based juggernaut.

It seems unlikely that Apple’s losing streak will continue, however, as Huawei’s lead is slim and comes during the traditional summer lull in Apple’s sales as customers await the launch of the newest iPhone, which is slated for Sept. 12.

In a press release, Counterpoint research director Peter Richardson attributed Huawei’s growth to its investment in R&D and manufacturing, as well as its marketing.

He did, however, say that Huawei’s reliance on its Chinese market hampers its ability to surpass Samsung in the near term.