“The last time a company other than Samsung held first place in the smartphone market was in 2010.” After a big Christmas quarter thanks to the iPhone 15, Apple overtook Samsung in smartphone sales. smartphones in 2023 according to the specialized research firm IDC, which sees “a change of power at the top of the largest consumer electronics market”.
The Californian group sold more than 234 million iPhones last year, or 20.1% of the global market, according to IDC. Samsung therefore comes in second position, with more than 226 million devices sold (-13.6%) and 19.4% of the pie.
This is the first time that Apple has held the largest share of this market, and it is “the only player in the Top 3 to show positive annual growth”, of 3.7%, notes Nabila Popal, research director. . In 2010, the first place was occupied by Nokia, then by Samsung the following year.
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The Apple brand, however, faced “increased regulatory challenges and renewed competition from Huawei in China, its largest market,” she adds. “Apple’s continued success and resilience are largely due to the growing trend toward premium devices, which now represent more than 20% of the market, aggressive trade-in offers for older models, and financing plans at zero rate.
The South Korean giant is due to present new smartphones powered by artificial intelligence (AI) on Wednesday in San Jose, the heart of the American Silicon Valley, a very trendy subject which is yet rarely discussed by Apple during its conferences.
Global sales down 3.2%
Competition in the smartphone market is “intense”, for Ryan Reith, vice-president of the IDC department dedicated to this market. “Apple certainly played a role in Samsung’s decline, but the Android space as a whole is diversifying. Huawei is back and making rapid inroads in China, brands like OnePlus, Honor, Google and others are launching very competitive devices in the lower price range of the high end,” he analyzes.
The American group stood out in an unfavorable context: global sales of smartphones decreased by 3.2% in 2023, to 1.17 billion units, the “lowest annual volume in a decade, due largely part of macroeconomic challenges,” explains IDC.
The firm nevertheless expects a recovery in 2024, with already growth of 8.5% year-on-year in the fourth quarter of 2023.