With a significant market share of around 20%, Apple overtook Samsung Electronics in the global smartphone industry and ended its twelve years reign as top seller based on prediction by International Data Corp. This shift in dominance is evidenced by Samsung settling for a 19.4% share, followed by Xiaomi, Oppo, and Transsion, as indicated by preliminary data from IDC's Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker.

This development unfolded amid a challenging year marked by subdued smartphone upgrades and a consumer inclination toward more economical handsets amid economic uncertainties and inflation.

Apple Achieves Market Leadership Amidst Decline in Global Smartphone Sales

The remarkable rise of Apple is even more noteworthy due to its presence this year. In this respect, Apple and Transsion are unique because they were the only two out of five leading manufacturers in 2023 that saw an increase in sales. Apple showed its strength in resilience as iPhone shipments increased by 3.7%, even with a significant drop at Samsung, which fell from 13.6%.

According to Nabila Popal, research director at IDC's Worldwide Tracker team, Apple's remarkable success in becoming the leading smartphone vendor is noteworthy, considering its challenges, including increased regulatory scrutiny and resurgent competition from Huawei in China, its largest market.

Although facing obstacles, those premium devices from Apple, making up over 20% of the market share, still appeal to customers.

Popal highlighted that while low-end Android players like Transsion and Xiaomi witnessed robust growth in emerging markets in the second half of 2023, Apple emerged as the "biggest winner."

The changing dynamics at the top of the market underscore the fierce competition within the smartphone industry, as noted by Ryan Reith, group vice president of IDC's Worldwide Mobility and Consumer Device Trackers.

Reith pointed out the diversification in the overall Android space, with Huawei showing potential for a comeback despite US sanctions and other brands like OnePlus, Honor, and Google introducing competitive devices. According to Reith's observations in the IDC report, the smartphone industry is entering an intriguing phase with evolving market dynamics and increased competition.

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Besides Apple, Chinese Brands Also Competes for Sales

Although the US embargo persists, Huawei has revealed that its revenue for 2023 will be close to $ 10 billion and show a growth of about 9% over last year. The Chinese tech giant's remarkable success is attributed to its much better-than-expected performance in the devices business that involves smartphones and the robust information communication technology infrastructure sector. As a result, the 2024 plan focuses on a more targeted strategy due to Huawei's smartphone business having outperformed early projections.

Despite American sanctions, the business presented the Mate 60 Pro smartphone with a domestically produced chip on August 23.

The handset, showcasing 5G support without American components, contributed to Huawei regaining market share in China, surpassing Apple, according to Counterpoint Research. While Huawei expresses optimism, the impact of geopolitical conflicts, economic uncertainties, and technology restrictions loom as challenges in the coming year.

Once among the world's top smartphone vendors, the company faced a downturn in phone sales following US sanctions in 2019, with 2020's global chip supply cutoff further limiting its capabilities.