(NewsNation) — Apple beat out Samsung in smartphone shipments in 2023, overtaking a company that held the top spot for more than a decade.
According to preliminary data from the International Data Corporation (IDC) Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker, Apple shipped 234.6 million smartphones last year, 8 million more than Samsung’s 226.6 million. Another research agency, Canalys, also has Apple atop the market.
Apple’s performance came in spite of global phone shipments dropping 3.2% year over year to 1.17 billion units, according to IDC. It’s the lowest full-year volume in a decade, which IDC attributes to macroeconomic challenges and elevated inventory.
“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,” Nabila Popal, research director with IDC’s Worldwide Tracker team, said in a news release. “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.”
The last time Samsung wasn’t atop the smartphone market was in 2010, when Nokia shipped the most. That year, Samsung was in second, LG in third, ZTE in fourth and Research in Motion (the Blackberry manufacturer) fifth.
In 2023, Xiaomi, OPPO and Transsion rounded out the top five. All are Chinese companies, which IDC notes are increasingly creating stiffer competition for both U.S.-based Apple and South Korea-based Samsung.
“The overall shift in ranking at the top of the market further highlights the intensity of competition within the smartphone market,” said Ryan Reith, group vice president with IDC’s Worldwide Mobility and Consumer Device Trackers. “Apple certainly played a part in Samsung’s drop in rank, but the overall Android space is diversifying within itself.”
