Apple Grabs Top Rank In Global Smartphone Market In 2023 (Photo by Andy Wang on Unsplash)

US tech giant Apple has surpassed South Korean giant Samsung to grab the top spot in the global smartphone market for the first time in 2023. As per the recent report by the International Data Corporation (IDC), Apple has secured the top rank with a solid 20.1 percent market share. Notably, Samsung has maintained a longstanding dominance in the market since 2010.

Samsung is holding the second position with a market share of 19.4 percent. According to the IDC report, Apple has shipped an estimated 234.6 million smartphones in 2023. Meanwhile, Samsung shipped 226.6 million in the same period. “Not only is Apple the only player in the Top 3 to show positive growth annually, but also bags the number 1 spot annually for the first time ever,” said Nabila Popal, research director with IDC”s Worldwide Tracker team. Nabila Popal also noted that Apple achieved the top spot despite facing increased regulatory challenges and intense competition from Huawei in China. “Apple”s ongoing success and resilience is in large part due to the increasing trend of premium devices,” added Nabila Popal.

In the fourth quarter of 2023, which is from October to December, Apple made 80.5 million shipments and Samsung made 53 million shipments. At the same time, China’s Xiaomi (12.5 percent) and OPPO (8.8 percent) made it to third and fourth positions, respectively. While Xiaomi shipped 145.9 million units in 2023, Oppo marked a shipment of 103.1 million units.

The significant shift in ranking indicates the intensity of competition in the smartphone arena. Notably, the IDC report also mentioned that global smartphone shipments declined 3.2 percent year over year to 1.17 billion units in 2023. The fourth quarter of 2023 witnessed 8.5 percent year-over-year growth and 326.1 million shipments. It is higher than the forecasted 7.3 percent growth, and this indicates the recovery of the market.