Samsung regains leadership in smartphone market after Apple’s brief reign

Although both companies recorded a slight decline in sales between January and March, 2024 started with positive data across the sector this is encouraging. In particular, according to the consulting company IDC, shipments of smartphones in the first quarter grew by almost 8%, reaching almost 290 million units.

Specific, In total, Samsung sold 60.1 million devices. in the first quarter of 2024, representing a decline of 0.7% compared to the levels achieved a year ago. In turn, its market share fell by 1.7 percentage points to 20.8%.

(Apple ends Samsung’s twelve-year reign and declares iPhone the best-selling smartphone in 2023)

The big drop was Apple, which lost 3.4 points from a year ago to 17.3%. In particular, the American manufacturer About 50.1 million iPhones sold in the first quarter, which is 9.6% less than in the first three months of 2023.

Also leave behind historical figure of 80.5 million smartphones registered in the fourth quarter 2023. A success that allowed the company to end last year as the leading company in the smartphone market and end Samsung’s twelve-year reign.

Positive data

Overall, according to preliminary data from IDC, global smartphone shipments have reached 289.4 million units, representing an increase of 7.8%. compared to 268.5 million units shipped in the first quarter of 2023.

The consultant emphasizes that this is about third consecutive quarter in which global smartphone sales grew, which he believes is a “clear indicator” that the sector’s recovery is already underway. However, he also adds that the sector is not yet “fully out of the crisis” as macroeconomic challenges persist in many markets.

“The smartphone market is emerging from the turbulence of the last two years stronger and changed,” N. emphasized.abila Popal, Research Director, IDC. In particular, he clarified that he was registering. increase in cost and average selling pricesas consumers choose more expensive devices “knowing they will last longer.”

Moreover, he also emphasized that A “change of power” is taking place among the world’s five largest producers. This movement, according to Popal, is likely to continue as market agents adjust their strategies once the market recovery takes hold.

(Sales of Apple, Samsung or Xiaomi smartphones fell to 2013 levels after falling 11% in 2022)

In particular, he emphasized that Xiaomi is making a strong comeback after the decline of the last two years.. In fact, in the first quarter of 2024, its sales grew by 33.8% to 40.8 million units. This growth boosted its market share by 2.7 percentage points to 14.1%.

The growth of the Chinese manufacturer was greater Transition, which has already established itself in the “Top 5” thanks to its “aggressive” growth in international markets. In the first three months of the year 28.5 smartphones sold, which is 84.9% more than a year agoand managed to take fourth place after increasing its share from 5.7% to 9.9%.

“Top 5” closed in the first three months of the year Oppo sold 25.2 million smartphones, which is 8.5% less than a year ago. This decline caused its market share to fall from 10.3% in the first quarter of 2023 to 8.7% between January and March 2024.

For his part, Ryan Reith, vice president of Worldwide Mobility and Consumer Device Trackers at IDC, hopes that Samsung and Apple maintain dominance in the high-end device segment and increase their market share while smaller brands look for ways to position themselves.

However, he also warns that The revival of Huawei in Chinaand the remarkable growth of Xiaomi, Transsion, OPPO/OnePlus and Vivo are likely to force the two market leaders to look for other niches to expand and diversify their businesses.