Samsung loses smartphone market crown for first time since 2010 as Apple steals top spot

[midian182]

In brief: The global smartphone market slumped last year as shipments declined 3.2% compared to 2022, but one company that has reason to celebrate is Apple. Cupertino was one of only two manufacturers in the top five to see an increase in growth throughout 2023. It also stole the top spot from Samsung, marking the first time since 2010 that the Korean giant has missed out on the number one position.

Much like the PC industry, which has just experienced its worst 12 months in history, the smartphone market had a terrible 2023. A 3.2% decline to 1.17 billion units shipped last year marked the lowest full-year volume in a decade, writes IDC, the result of economic challenges, the rising cost of living, job losses, and other factors.

The smartphone industry is also mirroring the PC market in that the fourth quarter of the year did see growth. The 8.5% YoY shipments increase in Q4 was higher than expected, leading to optimism that there will be a recovery in 2024.

Looking at individual companies, Apple displaced Samsung at the top of the list for the first time in 13 years. Cupertino's shipments were up 3.7% in 2023 to 234.6 million, giving it a fifth of the total market share and putting it in the number one spot for the first time ever. Samsung's shipments, meanwhile, fell 13.6% to 226.6 million.

Despite the market contracting, the premium smartphone segment, which is made up of phones costing $600 or more, reached a record 24% share last year. It's an area dominated by Apple, which isn't surprising given the price of its handsets; the company took a 71% share.

Going back to overall global shipments, Xiaomi, OPPO, and Transsion make up the rest of the top five. Transsion's shipments were up 30% last year, thanks to its affordable smartphone brands that are extremely popular in Africa, the Middle East, Latin America, Asia, and Oceania.

Whether Apple manages to retain its crown as the world's top smartphone seller in 2024 remains to be seen. The company saw iPhone sales plummet 30% YoY in China during the first week of January. That's bad news in a market where Apple has previously enjoyed plenty of success.

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https://www.techspot.com/news/101533-samsung-loses-smartphone-market-crown-first-time-since.html

 

[Superconductor]

Samsung limiting maximum storage points and killing off the micro SD slot is key + price.

 

[nismo91]

Look at how aggressive transsion holding is. they sell cheap phones filled with bloatwares. but in this economy it's probably easier to just accept bloatware rather than shell out more cash to buy a better phone.

they almost wiped the used phone market under $150 here because they can sell a new phone with 8/256 configuration at exactly $99.

 

[Burty117]

I've not recommended Samsung for years now, Glad to see they're finally dropping off.
I will never fully understand the love around Samsung phones. Maybe things have gotten better but they used to be just full of bloatware, a UI design from the early days and to top it off, weren't cheap either.

 

[Vanderlinde]

Apple's succes is ... well.. .Pretty much common if you actually have one and how smooth it is.

 

[Nobina]

A close friend bought an S23 recently, and it really doesn't look impressive in any way. You can probably say that about the latest iPhones as well, but Apple is still a brand people desire.

 

[dangh]

This is still surprising given how limiting iOS is. After having for years (work reasons) simultaneously iphone and samsung I found I barely use iphone due to stupid limitations and weird interface. In addition, not being able to run my own software on my own phone was a joke. Samsung simply delivers a better experience - for me.

 

[Theinsanegamer]

Samsung limiting maximum storage points and killing off the micro SD slot is key + price.

Agreed. If I wanted that garbage I can get an iphone with twice the support lifespan. Add in that garbage UI they use and their reliability issues. Why ANYONE trusts them after years of blown batteries and failing appliances is beyond me.

Apple's succes is ... well.. .Pretty much common if you actually have one and how smooth it is.

I've used one, and the lack of site settings on any iOS web browser is a killer. Lack of side loading is another major failure. Also, the 15 plus gets WAY too hot in general. My thinkphone charges 3x faster and doesnt get nearly as warm.....

All for the low price of $1200+ for decent storage. LMFAO.

 

[Mr Majestyk]

Samsung limiting maximum storage points and killing off the micro SD slot is key + price.

When you start cloning your competitors phone, people will buy the real deal. just look at the S24 Ultra, it now even looks like a iPhone with the flat edges and they copied the Titanium frame too. Also Scamsung put's 99% of the effort in only updating the Ultra and the regular S2x gets stuff all updates.

I lament the lack of non-Chinese competition in Android space and my S21 will be my last Samsung.

 

[VaRmeNsI]

Now that most budget phones are capable I don't think it's worth paying premium prices anymore.

 

[ScottSoapbox]

See! Selling out to the Chinese government to get those extra sales is worth it guys!

 

[JamesBlond]

Samsung, listen to your users and win the market.
Get rid of all spying applications, get rid of Google. Get rid of WhatsApp
Launch your Phones standard with Samsung Chat and Signal
stop doing updates on a weekly basis, make sure you don't update more than 4 times a year
Make your phones purchasable over 6months because they are too expensive, at 0% interest.
Make the phones un trackable

 

[Plutoisaplanet]

This is still surprising given how limiting iOS is. After having for years (work reasons) simultaneously iphone and samsung I found I barely use iphone due to stupid limitations and weird interface. In addition, not being able to run my own software on my own phone was a joke. Samsung simply delivers a better experience - for me.

You can run your own software on iOS lol. And there are a number of ways to do it. Have you heard of the app store? If you want no one else to have access to it, you can use a PWA or sideload your app: https://www.macrumors.com/2023/04/17/app-sideloading-support-coming-ios-17/
You can even run your own app store for iOS, here is an example of that: https://altstore.io/