As per a latest report from International Data Corp the Cupertino based technology giant, Apple has ended the 12-year long run as the largest seller of smartphones in the world for Samsung Electronic by commanding a 20% market share in 2023.
Apple Aced Gaining Top Seller Position
In this race, Samsung was little behind as it ended the year with a 19.4% share.
Next comes China’s Xiaomi followed by Oppo and Transsion, as per the preliminary data observed by the IDC’s Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker .
These changes in market share come after a tough year during which the manufacturer has to witness ups and downs where consumers are going slow on smartphone upgrades and choosing cheaper handsets due to high inflation and economic uncertainties.
Besides this the slower-than-expected recovery in China, which is also the world’s largest smartphone market weighed on overall phone sales.
Despite the overall market declined 3.2% to 1.17 billion units and hit a decade low, Apple and Transsion, which further sells Tecno, Infinix and itel brands, were the only two of the top five smartphone vendors who recorded sales growth last year.
How Did This Happen?
The research director at IDC’s Worldwide Tracker team, Nabila Popal said, “While we saw some strong growth from low-end Android players like Transsion and Xiaomi in the second half of 2023, stemming from rapid growth in emerging markets, the biggest winner is clearly Apple.”
IDC data shows that the phone shipments from Samsung were down 13.6%, at the same time iPhone shipments were up 3.7% last year.
It appears that Samsung strategized in focusing on the mid- to high-end segment for profitability.
While doing so, the smartphone maker has lost its share in the low-end segment, according to Amber Liu of research firm Canalys.
The struggle for Apple is also not over as the iPhone maker is feeling pressure in China with a resurgence from Huawei as well as from budget Chinese brands.
But the company is offering almost 5% discounts on some models in the country in order to attract more customers.
Considering the growth, Microsoft on Friday overtook Apple as the world’s most valuable public company on Friday.
On the other hand, Wall Street has shown concern over the demand for iPhones and other high-end gadgets.
