Apple's iPhone Shipment Registers Nearly 10 Percent Decline In First Quarter: IDC (Photo by Jimmy Jin on Unsplash)

Recent data from research firm IDC indicated that Apple”s smartphone shipments declined in the first quarter of this year. As per the IDC report, the iPhone maker registered a 9.6 percent year-over-year fall in iPhone shipments in Q1 2024. With this decline, Apple slid to the second position in the global smartphone market, and South Korean giant Samsung regained the top spot.

The report noted that global smartphone shipments increased 7.8 percent year over year to 289.4 million units in the first quarter of 2024. Even though macroeconomic challenges remain in several markets, this marks the third consecutive quarter of shipment growth. As per the data released on April 14, Samsung’s shipments declined 0.7 percent year-over-year to 60.1 million units during the three months. Notably, Samsung”s market share fell from 22.5 percent in Q1 2023 to 20.8 percent in the first quarter.

At the same time, Apple shipped 50.1 million iPhones this quarter. However, the Cupertino-based tech company”s market share declined from 20.7 percent to 17.3 percent, as per the IDC data. On the other hand, popular Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi finished in third position with a significant market share of 14.1 percent in the January-March quarter of this year. China”s Transsion is in the fourth position with a global market share of 9.9 percent.

“While Apple managed to capture the top spot at the end of 2023, Samsung successfully reasserted itself as the leading smartphone provider in the first quarter,” said Ryan Reith, group vice president with IDC”s Worldwide Mobility and Consumer Device Trackers. Ryan Reith also added that the smartphone recovery continues to move forward, with market optimism slowly building among the major brands.