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Samsung remained the undisputed global leader in the smartphone market for more than a decade, but its reign ended last year, with Apple expected to overtake Samsung to become the largest smartphone maker in 2023, according to a new IDC report.
The rise of Apple and the fall of Samsung
The last time Samsung gave up its leadership was in 2010 – during the days of Nokia’s past glory (then the legendary Finnish manufacturer still controlled a third of the market). Steady growth in the premium segment, which accounts for more than 20% of sales (the share continues to grow), strong sales in the US, and resale, trade-in and leasing programs have largely helped Apple become #1 in the world for annual smartphone sales for the first time. . In 2023, Apple shipped 234.6 million iPhones and took 20.1% of the global market (+3.7%). At the same time, Samsung dropped to second place with a result of 226.6 million units, and its share decreased to 19.4% (-13.6%).
The Chinese Xiaomi finished third with a result of 145.9 million smartphones – 12.5% less than in 2022. The fourth and fifth places also belong to Chinese brands: Oppo and the already familiar Transsion (owner of the Tecno and Infinix brands), which in 2023 was able to ship 94.9 million smartphones, which is currently showing the highest growth rates among the top five, and rose to 4th place in the last quarter.
Interestingly, Samsung, which is currently preparing for the launch of the Galaxy S24 series (the presentation will take place tomorrow, January 17), is the only one in the top five with a decline in sales in the fourth quarter of 2023. Galaxy Flip 6 and Galaxy Fold 6 foldable smartphones are expected this year
The largest smartphone manufacturers – in the fourth quarter and for the whole year 2023
The smartphone market – what’s next
Overall, the global smartphone market shrank by 3.2% in terms of volume to 1.17 billion devices in 2023, the worst performance in a decade. At the same time, after more than two years of consecutive decline, the market showed growth in the last quarter of 2023. In fact, in the fourth quarter, shipments increased by 8.5% (even higher than the forecast 7.3%), to 326.1 million units, which gives hope for a revival of demand in 2024.
IDC noted a marked improvement in the position of lower-tier Android players such as Transsion and Xiaomi, primarily due to the revival of demand in emerging markets. The renewed competition from Huawei in China, the growth of the sophisticated smartphone segment and the role of AI are also mentioned.
Huawei is back and quickly conquering the Chinese market. Brands like OnePlus, Honor, Google and others produce very competitive devices at the lower end of the high-end price range. In addition, sophisticated smartphones and discussions around artificial intelligence on smartphones are gaining more and more popularity. In general, very interesting times await the smartphone market.”
Ryan Reith, Group Vice President, IDC Worldwide Mobility and Consumer Device Trackers
According to Jefferies forecast, in 2024 Huawei will ship about 64 million smartphones – against less than 35 million according to the results of 2023. The Chinese giant is still under U.S. sanctions, but is gradually adapting and coming to its senses, as detailed in a recent article.
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