In a first: Apple becomes world's largest selling smartphone, ending Samsung's 12-year streak

Market analysts believe the success of premium devices such as the iPhone pushed Apple’s sales upwards.
A representational image of Samsung and Apple logo. — Twitter/@Samsung /@Apple
A representational image of Samsung and Apple logo. — Twitter/@Samsung /@Apple

For the first time, Apple’s iPhone became the world’s most-selling smartphone marking an end to rival Samsung’s 12-year streak of remaining on the top.

The International Data Corporation released the data earlier this week which showed that the iPhone stole Samsung´s crown in 2023 with 234.6 million units sold, compared to the South Korean firm’s 226.6 million units.

The IDC added that the US tech giant commanded a 20.1% market share ahead of Samsung’s 19.4%.

Market analysts believe that the success of premium devices such as the iPhone pushed Apple’s sales upwards.

They also pointed to an increasingly fragmented market for smartphones that run on the Android operating system, citing low-end Samsung rivals such as Transsion and Xiaomi as well as Honor and Google.

The success of Huawei’s well-received offerings in China also affected Samsung’s drop in sales, the IDC said.

The sales data came ahead of the latest release of Samsung models expected at an event in San Jose, US tonight (January 17).

According to IDC, global smartphone shipments declined 3.2% to 1.17 billion units in 2023, though the group said the industry was recovering after a sluggish period.

"Growth in the second half of the year has cemented the expected recovery for 2024," the IDC said in a statement.