Apple has overtaken Samsung to be the biggest producer of smartphones in the world for the first time, new research has revealed.
This is the first time Samsung has not been the number one smartphone seller since 2010 and is indicative of the competition in the smartphone market currently.
The US giant shipped 234.6 million units in 2023 – a 20.1% share of the market, according to data from the International Data Corporation (IDC) in its Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker. This was a 1.3% increase in market share from 2022, and the company’s largest ever share of the market.
Samsung shipped 226.6 million units – 19.4% of the market. However, the number of units was down by 35.6 million year-on-year, and its market share declined by 2.3% from 2022.
Chinese phone makers Xiaomi, OPPO and Transsion took the remainder of the top five places in IDC’s research.
But 2023 was a challenging year in the smartphone market as global smartphone shipments declined 3.2% year-on-year to 1.17 billion units in 2023. While this marks the lowest full-year volume in a decade, it was driven largely by macroeconomic challenges and elevated inventory early in the year, the IDC said. With growth in sales in the second half of 2023, the company expects a recovery in 2024.
Indeed, of the top three smartphone makers only Apple showed growth over 2023. As Nabila Popal research director with IDC’s Worldwide Tracker team, noted this was despite facing increased regulatory challenges and renewed competition from Huawei in China, its largest market. “Apple’s ongoing success and resilience is in large part due to the increasing trend of premium devices, which now represent over 20% of the market, fuelled by aggressive trade-in offers and interest-free financing plans,” she said.
Ryan Reith, group vice president with IDC’s Worldwide Mobility and Consumer Device Trackers, added: “The overall shift in ranking at the top of the market further highlights the intensity of competition within the smartphone market. Apple certainly played a part in Samsung’s drop in rank, but the overall Android space is diversifying within itself.
“Huawei is back and making inroads quickly within China. Brands like OnePlus, Honor, Google, and others are launching very competitive devices in the lower price range of the high end. And foldables and increased discussions around AI capabilities on the smartphone are gaining traction. Overall, the smartphone space is headed towards a very interesting time.”
