Apple loses top smartphone maker crown to Samsung
Samsung (OTCPK:SSNLF) has reclaimed its crown as the top smartphone maker from Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL), which saw its iPhone shipments drop 9.6% in Q1 2024, preliminary data from the International Data Corporation’s Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker showed.
Apple’s (AAPL) market share at the end of Q1 was 17.3%, while Samsung’s (OTCPK:SSNLF) share was 20.8%. “While IDC expects these two companies to maintain their hold on the high end of the market, the resurgence of Huawei in China, as well as notable gains from Xiaomi (OTCPK:XIACF), Transsion, OPPO/OnePlus, and vivo will likely have both OEMs looking for areas to expand and diversify,” said Ryan Reith, group vice president, IDC’s Worldwide Mobility and Consumer Device Trackers.
Chinese brands are steadily gaining ground, with Xiaomi (OTCPK:XIACF) taking the third spot with a market share of 14.1%. Recall that Apple’s (AAPL) iPhone sales in China fell 24% Y/Y in the first six weeks of 2024 amid rising competition from Chinese rival Huawei, according to Counterpoint Research.
Meanwhile, global smartphone shipments rose 7.8% Y/Y to 289.4M units in Q1, which marks the third straight quarter of growth and indicates that the industry is recovering, although macroeconomic challenges remain.
“The smartphone market is emerging from the turbulence of the last two years both stronger and changed,” said Nabila Popal, research director at IDC’s Worldwide Tracker team.