Apple overtakes Samsung as the world’s top smartphone seller

The US technology company’s iPhone for the first time became the world’s biggest selling smartphone after its South Korean rival’s 12-year run as leader, according to data from the IDC

Apple has overtaken Samsung as the world’s top smartphone seller.

The US technology company’s iPhone for the first time became the world’s biggest selling smartphone after its South Korean rival’s 12-year run as leader, according to data.

Data from the International Data Corporation released this week showed that the iPhone stole Samsung’s crown in 2023 with 234.6 million units sold, compared with the South Korean company’s 226.6 million units.

The US tech firm commanded a 20.1% market share ahead of Samsung’s 19.4%, according to the IDC.

The sales figures came before the latest release of Samsung models expected at an event in California on Wednesday.

Analysts from the market tracker said Apple’s rise was because of the success of premium devices like the iPhone.

They also pointed to an increasingly fragmented market for smartphones that run on the Android operating system, citing low-end Samsung rivals like Transsion and Xiaomi as well as Honor and Google.

The success of Huawei’s well-received offerings in China also had an effect on Samsung’s decline in sales, the International Data Corporation said.

IDC’s director Nabila Popal said: While we saw some strong growth from low-end Android players such as Transsion and Xiaomi in H2 2023, stemming from rapid growth in emerging markets, the biggest winner is clearly Apple.

Popal added: All this despite facing increased regulatory challenges and renewed competition from Huawei in China, its biggest market. Apple’s ongoing success and resilience is in large part because of the growing trend of premium devices, which now represent more than 20% of the market.

According to IDC, global smartphone shipments dropped 3.2% to 1.17 billion units in 2023, though the group said the industry was recovering after a sluggish period.

Growth in the second half of the year has strengthened the expected recovery for 2024, the IDC said.

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