For more than a decade, Samsung has been the reigning champion of the global smartphone market. However, data released by research firm IDC this week shows that Apple has now taken over the top spot. One of the reasons for this shift is the robust sales of the iPhone.
In its latest report on global smartphone shipments over the last 12 months, IDC stated that Apple has achieved 234.6 million phone shipments in 2023, giving it a 20.1% share of the market. This surpasses Samsung’s 226.6 million shipments and 19.4% market share, down by 13.6% from the previous year.
In 2022, Samsung was in the number one spot with 262.2 million phone shipments (21.7%) compared to Apple’s 226.3 million (18.8%). However, in 2023, Apple’s sales skyrocketed, largely driven by the iPhone 14 models and the newer iPhone 15 handsets, whereas Samsung faced stiff competition from various Android phone manufacturers globally.
Following Apple and Samsung in global smartphone shipments for 2023 were Chinese tech firm Xiaomi and OPPO, both based in China. These companies secured third and fourth place respectively, followed by Transsion, a Chinese company that is big in African markets, in fifth place.
While the global smartphone market remains challenged, IDC’s preliminary data suggests that the momentum is moving quickly toward recovery. Overall, global smartphone shipments declined 3.2% year over year to 1.17 billion units in 2023.
Apple’s success in 2023 is attributed to the increasing trend of premium devices, which now represent over 20% of the market, fueled by aggressive trade-in offers and interest-free financing plans, according to Nabila Popal, research director with IDC’s Worldwide Tracker team.
Ryan Reith, another IDC executive, mentioned that while Apple played a role in Samsung’s drop in rank, the overall Android space is diversifying itself. He added that the smartphone space is heading towards a very interesting time.
Samsung is gearing up to unveil its latest iteration of the flagship Galaxy S24 handset, hoping to regain the top position from Apple.
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