Apple Grabs the Top Spot in the Smartphone Market in 2023

The last time a company not named Samsung was at the top of the smartphone market was in 2010, and for 2023 it is now Apple, according to IDC. A sort of shifting of power at the top of the largest consumer electronics market was driven by an all-time high market share for Apple and a first time at the top.

Overall, the global smartphone market remains challenged, but momentum is moving quickly toward recovery. According to preliminary data from IDC, global smartphone shipments declined 3.2% year over year to 1.17 billion units in 2023. While this marks the lowest full-year volume in a decade, driven largely by macroeconomic challenges and elevated inventory early in the year, growth in the second half of the year has cemented the expected recovery for 2024. The fourth quarter saw 8.5% year-over-year growth and 326.1 million shipments, higher than the forecast of 7.3% growth.

"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," said Nabila Popal, research director with IDC's Worldwide Tracker team. "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."

In 2023, Apple's shipments grew by 3.7% and reached 234.6 million, a 20.1% share. Samsung dropped 13.6% YoY to 226.6 million shipments, a 19.4% share. Xiaomi held the third spot with a 4.7% drop to 145.9 million devices shipped. OPPO was fourth with 103.1 million shipments, a 9.9% decline YoY. Transsion entered the top five with 30.8% growth.

"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 of 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. Huawei is back and making inroads quickly within China, Brands like OnePlus, Honor, Google, and others are launching very competitive devices in the lower price range of the high end. And foldables and increased discussions around AI capabilities on the smartphone are gaining traction. Overall, the smartphone space is headed towards a very interesting time."

Apple led the top five list in 4Q23 by a significant margin. It took 24.7% of the market with 80.5 million shipments, an 11.6% increase YoY. Samsung, on the other hand, saw a decline in shipments by 10.9% YoY to 53 million. Xiaomi remained third with a 12.5% share and a 22.7% rise compared with the same period in 2022. Transsion recorded even bigger growth in shipments of 68.6% taking it to fourth place as vivo dropped to fifth spot with a rise of 3.5% to 99.5 million shipments.