The American Phone Giant, Apple has ended Samsung Electronic’s 12-year run as the largest seller of smartphones in the world.
Apple commanded a 20% market share in 2023, according to a report from International Data Corp.
Samsung ended the year with a 19.4% share, followed by China’s Xiaomi , Oppo and Transsion. The change in ranking comes after a tough year which saw consumers going slow on smartphone upgrades and choosing cheaper handsets due to high inflation and economic challenges.
Samsung is facing a stern competition from cheaper Android models including Transsion and Xiaomi which are getting a boost from both price-savvy consumers and emerging markets.
Apple and Transsion, which sells Tecno, Infinix and itel brands, were the only two of the top five smartphone vendors to record sales growth last year, even though the overall market declined 3.2% to 1.17 billion units .
The IDC in its report says that almost 1.2 billion smartphones were sold last year – a drop of more than 3% on the previous year. It is the lowest amount sold in ten (10)years, as many consumers are tightening their purse in the face of economic challenges. However, experts predict the market will recover this year.
By: Fiagbe Zenas