Apple dethrones Samsung as the world’s leading smartphone maker

Manzana dethroned Samsung How world’s leading smartphone manufacturera position that the South Korean firm has held continuously since 2010 and which the US company managed to achieve in 2023, according to preliminary results of the Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker report prepared by consulting firm IDC.

In this sense, Apple sold 234.6 million devices in 2023up 3.7% from the previous year, while Samsung shipped 226.6 million smartphones, down 13.6% from 2022.

Next on the list are Chinese companies Xiaomi (145.9 million units sold; -4.7% year on year), Oppo (103.1 million units; -9.9%) and Transition (94.9 million units; +30.8%).

By market share, Apple reached 20.1% in 2023, while Samsung recorded 19.4%, Xiaomi 12.5%, Oppo 8.8% and Transsion 8.1%.

The report also notes that Global smartphone sales fell 3.2% on an annualized basis, about 1.17 billion units were shipped in 2023, marking the “lowest annual volume in a decade.”

In this sense, IDC emphasized that global decline in sales this type of device associated with “macroeconomic problems” and “large reserves” accumulated at the beginning of 2023.

“Although in the second half of 2023, we saw strong growth from low-cost Android operators such as Transsion and Xiaomi due to rapid growth in emerging marketsThe biggest winner is obviously Apple,” said Nabila Popal, the report’s research director.

“Apple is not only the only player in the top 3 showing positive growth compared to last year, but also took first place for the first time. “This comes even as the company faces tougher regulatory challenges and renewed competition from Huawei in China, its biggest market,” the analyst added.

In this sense, Popal argued that Apple’s “success” largely due to “growing trend” towards high-end devices (“premium”), which is supported by “interest-free financing plans.”

IDC also emphasized that The Android common space is diversifying, thanks to Huawei’s advances in China and brands such as OnePlus, Honor and Google releasing “very competitive” devices at the lower end of the high-end price range. Add to this the dynamics of development of phones with artificial intelligence and foldable devices, adds IDC.