Apple snatches Samsung's smartphone throne

The last time Samsung wasn’t the top smartphone seller globally was in 2010. In 2023, Samsung was overtaken by rival Apple. The iPhone maker ended last year as the No. 1 smartphone seller, according to analysts IDC and Canalys.

Specifically, Canalys data shows that global smartphone sales in the fourth quarter of 2023 reached 320 million units, representing an increase of 8% compared to the same period in 2022. This is also the first quarter of growth after 7 consecutive quarters of decline. Canalys estimates that 1.1 billion smartphones were sold in all of 2023, down 4% compared to the previous year.

Canalys data shows that Apple is the world's largest smartphone maker in 2023.

Apple led the way with a 24% market share in the quarter, thanks to strong demand for the iPhone 15. Samsung came in second with a 17% share. Xiaomi (13%), Transsion (9%), and Vivo (7%) completed the top five. Canalys experts said the demand recovery was driven by markets in the Middle East, Africa, Asia- Pacific , and Latin America. Low-cost and entry-level devices served as the main growth drivers. Going forward, Canalys predicts AI will be a major focus for premium devices launched in 2024.

Research firm IDC paints a similar picture. According to IDC, Apple sold 234.6 million smartphones last year, accounting for a market share of 20.1 percent, while Samsung sold 226.6 million smartphones, accounting for 19.4 percent. Xiaomi followed with 145.9 million (12.5 percent), Oppo with 103.1 million (8.8 percent), and Transsion with 94.9 million (8.1 percent).

Compared to 2022, Apple's sales grew 3.7% and Transsion's grew 30.8%. Transsion is the company that owns Tecno and Infinix. On the other hand, Samsung's shipments fell 13.6%, Xiaomi's 4.7%, and Oppo's 9.9%. Overall, the smartphone market fell 3.2% in the same period.

In the last quarter of 2023, Apple took the top spot with 80.5 million iPhones sold and a 24.7% market share, Samsung sold 53 million units with a 16.3% market share, Xiaomi sold 40.7 million units with a 12.5% market share. Transsion and Vivo ranked fourth and fifth with 8.6% and 7.5% market share, respectively.

The Viet (Source: GSM Arena)

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