Apple dethrones Samsung as global Top Phone Maker، in2023، iPhone crowned no.1

International Data Corporation، IDC، announced this week that Apple Inc.، the American tech company، is crowned the world's biggest phonemaker as it has overtaken Samsung Electronics Co. to become the world's top smartphone seller، ending the Korean tech firm's 12-year run as industry leader، fot the iPhone maker took the top spot in 2023 with 234.6m units sold، passing Samsung's 226.6m units which came in second، ahead of Chinese device makers like Xiaomi Corp.

Apple to become the best-selling smartphone series last year

International Data Corporation، IDC، stated that Apple Inc.، the American tech company’s iPhone maker، dethroned Samsung Electronics Co. devices to become the best-selling smartphone series over the course of last year، the first time South Korea’s largest company has lost the top spot since 2010.

International Data Corporation، IDC، revealed that Apple Inc.، the American tech company’s iPhone maker، accounted for 20 % of the global market with close to 235 million shipments last year، while Samsung Electronics Co. shipments slumped double-digits to 226.6 million، came in second، ahead of Chinese device makers like Xiaomi Corp.

Apple unprecedented surge ahead of Samsung over a full year

International Data Corporation، IDC، affirmed that Apple Inc.، the American tech company، has dominated the holiday quarter in recent years، its surge ahead of Samsung over a full year is unprecedented and suggests the iPhone maker is weathering an industrywide slump better than rivals.

International Data Corporation، IDC، indicated that the crowning of Apple Inc.، the American tech company، which released the iPhone 15 in September، was due to trends including the increasing popularity of high-end devices، which now account for more than fifth of the global market.

Samsung was at the top of the smartphone market since 2010

International Data Corporation، IDC، said that 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، 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 iPhone maker and a first time at the top.

The Apple Inc.، the $2.8tn (£2.2tn) US tech company، commanded a 20.1% market share ahead of Samsung’s 19.4%، and Xiaomi at 12.5%، Oppo had an 8.8% market share and Transsion had 8.1%، so that Apple is well established as the largest smartphone maker in terms of revenues and profits but this is the first time it has led the market in terms of volume، International Data Corporation، IDC، added.

Apple Inc.، the American tech company’s iPhone maker، sales data came before the latest release of Samsung models on Wednesday، with the South Korean conglomerate expected to release the Galaxy S24، S24 Plus and S24 Ultra with artificial intelligence-backed features، according to International Data Corporation،IDC.

IDC data was a psychological blow to Samsung

Ben Wood، the chief analyst at the research firm CCS Insight، saw that IDC data was a psychological blow to Samsung but he expected the contest to remain tight this year as he thought it will remain a close-fought battle between Apple Inc.، the US tech company and Samsung Electronics، the South Korea’s largest company throughout 2024.

But there is little doubt that the iPhone maker is on a strong trajectory and the loyalty consumers have towards Apple devices means once they get one they seldom switch to something else.

Samsung needs to do everything it can to hold on to existing users

These data gave extra weight to the importance of Samsung’s Wednesday product launch، but this means Samsung needs to do everything it can to hold on to existing users as well as securing new customers for its devices، Wood explained.

International Data Corporation، IDC، revealed that global smartphone shipments declined 3.2% to 1.17bn units in 2023، though the industry was recovering after a sluggish period، however، growth in the second half of the year has cemented the expected recovery for 2024.

The success of Huawei well-received products in China

The success of Huawei’s well-received products in China also had an effect on Samsung’s drop in sales، and Huawei remained a competitive threat to Apple in China، the US company’s largest market as well as Apple was overtaken by Microsoft as the world’s most valuable company، at $2.9tn، as IDC said.

Apple has long led the smartphone market by revenue and profits; it has now overtaken Samsung to become the world leader by volume and Apple became the biggest smartphone manufacturer in the world in 2023، as its success was largely fuelled by more consumers deciding to buy higher-end models، regardless of price، because of their durability and features.

China has traditionally been a huge iPhone hub

Apple، the smartphone maker has also seen falling demand in China which has traditionally been a huge iPhone hub، with the company also having its biggest factory there، as the Chinese iPhone sales in the last week of December plunged as much as 30% year-on-year and this was mainly due to other brands such as Huawei and Xiaomi delivering increasingly competitive and features-packed products.

However، Apple confronts labour issues، Chinese trade laws and US-China tensions that have escalated significantly over the years، leading to Apple facing a number of supply chain and production issues leading the iphone manufacturer to contemplate other production hubs، such as India، specifically Tamil Nadu and Karnataka، as part of a wider strategic and manufacturing shift. As a result، the iPhone 14s was produced in India، instead of China، although several other models and products are still being made in China.