Samsung once again sold more smartphones than all of its competitors in the first three months of the year, once again pushing Apple off the top spot. This was determined by market observer IDC, according to whose figures Apple took the top spot in the fourth quarter of 2023. Because of the particularly successful Christmas business, Apple left everyone behind for the year as a whole. As in the first quarter of 2023, Samsung is now back at the top, and by a significantly larger margin. Behind them, Transsion continues to grow with the brands Tecno, Infinix and iTel, which are particularly successful with inexpensive smartphones in Africa, the Middle East and Latin America. Thanks in particular to Transsion and Xiaomi, the overall market has grown significantly again.
Advertisement
Xiaomi makes a comeback, Transsion establishes itself
Market shares of the five largest manufacturers in the past five quarters
(Image: IDC)
Overall, Samsung has according to the IDC figures From January to March, 60.1 million smartphones were sold, 0.7 percent and 0.4 million devices less than a year earlier. For Apple, the decline was significantly greater, with 50.1 million iPhones (-5.3 million and -9.6 percent). Others have ensured that sales figures have increased for the third quarter in a row and that IDC can see “strong signs” of a continued recovery in the market, especially Xiaomi with 40.8 million devices sold (+33.8 percent) and Transsion with 28.5 million (+84.9 percent). The latter ended up in fourth place again, ahead of Oppo. The remaining manufacturers got rid of 84.7 million smartphones, 5.7 million more than in the first quarter of 2023. Their market share therefore remained stable.
Overall, the market is stronger and changed after two turbulent years, says Nabila Popal from IDC. Above all, we see that prices continue to rise and people assume that they will use their devices for longer. Xiaomi has made a strong comeback and Transsion has now established itself in the top 5 with aggressive growth. Although the numbers for Samsung and Apple don’t look so good, it appears that the South Korean company is again in a stronger position than in previous quarters. This means that it will be difficult for Apple to regain the top position for the year as a whole with a successful final spurt.
(mho)