Apple surpasses Samsung to become number one in smartphone sales – Reuters
© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: iPhone 15 Pro was introduced at the ‘Wonderlust’ event held at the company’s headquarters in Cupertino, California, USA on September 12, 2023. REUTERS/Loren Elliott/File Photo
(Reuters) – Apple will end Samsung Electronics (KS:)’s 12-year run as the world’s largest smartphone seller after taking a 20% market share in 2023, according to a report from International Data Corp.
Samsung ended the year with a 19.4% share, followed by China’s Xiaomi (OTC:), Oppo and Transsion, according to preliminary data from IDC’s Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker.
The change in rankings comes after a difficult year for consumers, with high inflation and economic uncertainty slowing smartphone upgrades and opting for cheaper phones.
The slower-than-expected recovery in China, the world’s largest smartphone market, also put a burden on overall mobile phone sales.
Apple (NASDAQ:) and Transsion, which sells the Tecno, Infinix and itel brands, were the only two of the top five smartphone vendors last year, despite the overall market declining 3.2% to 1.17 billion units and marking the end of the decade. We recorded sales growth. low.
“We saw strong growth from low-end Android players such as Transsion and Xiaomi in the second half of 2023, driven by rapid growth in emerging markets, but the biggest winner is clearly Apple,” said Nabila Popal, research director at IDC Worldwide Tracker. team.
According to IDC data, Samsung phone shipments decreased 13.6% last year, while iPhone shipments increased 3.7%.
Amber Liu of research firm Canalys said Samsung focused on the mid-range and high-end segments for profitability but lost share in the low-end segment.
However, Apple is facing pressure from China’s resurgent Huawei and mid- to low-end Chinese brands. The iPhone manufacturer is offering discounts of up to 5% on some domestic models to attract customers.
Microsoft (NASDAQ:) on Friday surpassed Apple to become the world’s most valuable publicly traded company, as concerns grow on Wall Street about demand for iPhones and other high-end devices.
