Apple takes the smartphone market crown for the first time

Apple has taken over Samsung to become the top smartphone supplier in the world, a first for the Cupertino company.

According to analytics company IDC, Apple shipped 234.6 million smartphones in 2023, compared to Samsung's 226.6 million. Xiaomi is in third place with 145.9 million shipped.

Apple surged into number one spot thanks to an extremely successful final quarter of 2023, in which it shipped 80.5 million smartphones, compared to Samsung's 53 million, and Xiaomi's 40.7 million. Apple was also the only smartphone maker in the top three to achieve growth this year.

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Apple's results show resilience for the company's smartphone business, as they were achieved against a fairly poor macroeconomic backdrop in which overall smartphone shipments declined 3.2% year-over-year. IDC's research director Nabila Popal claims this is largely due to Apple's rapid growth in the emerging markets, as well as 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."

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Despite being among the largest smartphone manufacturers for over a decade, Apple has never been in the top spot on a yearly basis. The company entered the race when it launched the iPhone back in 2007, when the top smartphone manufacturer globally was Nokia. Since then, Samsung spent most of the time in the first place, with Apple battling the likes of Huawei and Xiaomi for the number two spot.