The top 10: Counterpoint Research has published its list of the best-selling smartphones of 2023 and for the first time, the top seven positions belong to Apple. The remaining three spots went to Samsung, but none of them were the company's flagship models.
Counterpoint's Global Monthly Handset Model Sales Tracker shows the iPhone 14, iPhone 14 Pro Max, and iPhone 14 Pro in first through third place, in that order. The iPhone 14 captured 3.9 percent of global smartphone sales, and half of those came from China and the US. Apple's iPhone 13 was the fourth best-selling phone last year with a 2.2 percent market share. Fifth place went to the iPhone 15 Pro Max, sixth was the iPhone 15 Pro, and seventh was the standard iPhone 15.
Samsung's A14 5G captured the eighth spot with a market share of 1.4 percent, while the Galaxy A04e and the Galaxy A14 4G rounded out the top 10 with 1.3 percent shares, each. All of Samsung's phones that made the top 10 are budget models; not exactly a good look for the company's flagships.
The research firm said Samsung's three spots on the leader board marked an increase of one spot over the 2022 list, adding that there have been no other brands besides Apple and Samsung on the list since 2021. Also of note is the fact that the combined market share of the top 10 phones in 2023 reached its highest ever at 20 percent, and was up from 19 percent in 2022.
The iPhone 13, Apple's oldest model on the list, held steady thanks to double-digit volume growth in India and Japan driven by its value proposition and carrier promotions. Samsung's budget devices also made the list due to their strong value proposition and presence across multiple geographic locations and customer categories, Counterpoint noted.
Looking to the future, the firm said it expects this year's top 10 to represent a larger portion of total smartphone sales as companies work to lean out their portfolios. Chinese brands could also enter the list.
Image credit: Ameen Almayuf