Apple beats Samsung for the first time in a key metric

For the first time in 13 years, Samsung has taken the top spot in global smartphone sales, and it was done by none other than Apple with its iPhone. This is reported by IDC, which prepared a report on the market share of global smartphone shipments until 2023, which states that the company from Cupertino took a market share of 22,5 %, thus taking the first place.

In particular, compared to the previous year (2022), when the market share was 18,8 %, Apple added 3,7 %, and the total number of devices shipped is estimated at 226,3 million units. Samsung, on the other hand, has dropped significantly, by about 2,3 %. This puts its market share at 19,4 %, down from 21,7 % last year, with only 226,6 million units sold for 2023, putting it in second place, behind only Apple and its iPhone.

This is certainly an achievement for Apple, which has had to face stiff competition in the Asian market, said Nabila Popal, research director of Worldwide Tracker at IDC. "Apple is not only the only player in the Top 3 to show positive growth on a year-on-year basis, but it is currently ranked number one. This is all despite the company facing more regulatory challenges [than any other manufacturer] and renewed competition from Huawei in China, its largest market," Popal said.

Reasons for Samsung's decline compared to Apple: a more diversified market

IDC also argues that Samsung's decline is due to strong sales of the iPhone 14 and iPhone 15, and possibly diversification into Android. In the latter case, this is mainly due to the resurgence of brands such as OnePlus, Honor and Google, which are producing high-end smartphones with similar specs at a more competitive price.

In any case, despite Apple's good results, the global smartphone market shrank by 3,2 % during 2023, with a total of 1,17 billion devices shipped. Xiaomi is in third place with a market share of 12,5 %. It is followed by Oppo with 8,8 % and Transsion Holdings, a Chinese smartphone maker with 8,1 % share.

On the other hand, IDC believes that 2024 could be a good year for the global smartphone market. This is mainly due to accelerated growth in the last months of 2023, interest in foldable devices and artificial intelligence capabilities in cell phones that are "gaining momentum."