Apple beats Samsung with most smartphone sales in 2023: IDC

For the first time, Apple left Samsung behind in a race for global smartphone shipment in 2023 according to market tracker IDC. This new achievement casts a light on shifting consumer interests toward high-end smartphones.

Data reveals that global smartphone shipments declined year over year to 1.17 billion shipments in 2023. It is also the lowest sales volume recorded in the past 10 years. However, IDC expects growth to rebound in the second half of 2024.

In terms of quarterly performance, the Q4 2023 market recorded 8.5% year-over-year growth and 326.1 million shipments, which is more than the forecast 7.3% growth.

Apple is the star of this show and the company is proven a real winner of this biggest market shuffle. Let’s take a look at the market share and shipments for the past year based on quarterly and yearly performance.

Q4 2023:

Apple sold 80.5 million iPhones in the fourth quarter of 2023 with a 24.7% market share. This was an increase of 11.6% year over year compared to 72.1 million shipments and 24.0% shares during Q4 2022.

On the other hand, Samsung lost ground with a 10.9% year-over-year decline featuring 54 million shipments and a 16.3% market share. This is a direct slip from 59.5 million units and 19.8% share during the same quarter a year earlier.

Annual results:

Throughout the past year, Apple shipped 234.6 million devices and increased its market share to 20.1%. It is a 3.7% year-on-year growth from 226.3 million shipments and 18.8% market share in 2022.

Coming to the number two in the tally, Samsung sold 226.6 million devices with a 19.4% market share. However, its annual growth declined by a massive 13.6%. In 2022, the South Korean company had 262.2 million shipments and 21.7% market share, according to IDC.

Q4 and Annual Smartphone Shipments of 2023 by IDC

Others:

Xiaomi, Oppo, and Vivo are also trailing in their progress and declines in both quarterly and annual collections.

“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. All this despite facing increased regulatory challenges and renewed competition from Huawei in China, its largest market. Apple’s ongoing success and resilience is in large part due to the increasing trend of premium devices, which now represent over 20% of the market, fueled by aggressive trade-in offers and interest-free financing plans.” said Nabila Popal, research director with IDC’s Worldwide Tracker team.

(source – IDC)