- Apple saw growth in 2023 and got the top spot in smartphone shipments for the first time since 2010 while the overall market declined.
- Q4 results showed Xiaomi gaining back its footing and Oppo losing its top 4 spot to Transsion.
- Xiaomi launched its Redmi Note 13 series yesterday, and the Galaxy S24 series comes out tomorrow as the fierce competition for the second spot could continue in Q1 2024.
Samsung’s 13-year streak as the OEM shipping most smartphones globally has unexpectedly ended last year. The brand was overtaken by Apple in 2023 in terms of smartphones shipped. This is the first time since 2010 that the Californian giant is the top phone manufacturer. It was also the only smartphone maker in the top 3 to record growth in 2023. Here’s more on the report by IDC.
Apple beats Samsung in 2023 to become the top smartphone maker
IDC’s preliminary data for smartphone shipments shows that the overall smartphone market saw a 3.2% decline. Despite the challenging conditions, Apple grabbed a record-high market share of 20.1%, with 234.6 million units shipped in 2023. This is 3.7% growth in the year, while the other two manufacturers in the top 3 did not do nearly as decent.
Samsung and Xiaomi, on the other hand, faced a 13.6% and 4.6% decline and are top 2 and 3 on the list, respectively. OPPO grabbed the 4th spot with 8.8% market share and saw a decrease similar to Samsung at 9.9%. Transsion, the Chinese manufacturer of Itel, Tecno, and Infinix-branded phones, had a brilliant 2023 with a 30.8% growth and took the 5th spot on the list.
Q4 reports show Xiaomi closing in gap with Samsung, Oppo losing position in Top 5
Naturally, IDC also shared the data for the fourth quarter of 2023, which showed Xiaomi gaining back its footing. The brand stood third with a growth of 22.7% compared to its fourth quarter in 2022. The brand shipped 40.7 million units, right behind the 53 million figure for Samsung. Apple kept a gap of 80.5 million units.
The fourth quarter results also showed Oppo losing its spot in the top 5. Transsion took its spot at number 4 with a surprising 68.6% growth compared to the same quarter in 2022. Vivo took the 5th spot with a slight 5.5% growth and 7.4% overall share in the market.
Xiaomi’s global launch of the Redmi Note 13 series, which took place yesterday in Thailand, could help it maintain its growth from the fourth quarter. However, it could face tough competition from Samsung, which is all set to launch its flagship Galaxy S24 series tomorrow.
It’s an interesting time to follow the smartphone market as Apple and Chinese smartphone makers are leaving no space for the legacy South Korean brand to breathe. The brand needs a strong flagship and midrange lineup in 2024 to retain its second spot, at the very least.
