Samsung has always been the world’s largest smartphone maker with Apple usually in second place, but that may no longer be the case. Recently, the IDC published preliminary data indicating that one of Samsung’s main rivals, Apple, has dethroned them as the world’s largest smartphone maker.
The data reveals that for 2023, Apple shipped 234.6 million smartphones which gained them a market share of 20.1%. Samsung, on the other hand, shipped slightly less phones at 226.6 million which gave them a 19.4% market share. Samsung also saw a decline in smartphone shipments of 13.6%, while Apple grew by 3.7%.
According to IDC’s group vice president Ryan Reith, he believes that Huawei’s comeback in China along with OnePlus and Google launching “competitive devices” played a role in Samsung’s loss of market share.
One of the reasons Samsung has always maintained a lead is due to the huge variety of phones they offer. These devices range from the super affordable to the top-of-the-line phones. This allows Samsung to appeal to a wide range of customers.
The fact that Apple, who pretty much only sells the expensive stuff, managed to overtake them is surprising. We don’t know if Apple will be able to maintain their lead, but it has definitely broken the Samsung streak as the world’s largest smartphone maker.