According to research firm Canalys, Apple overtook Samsung as the world’s top smartphone vendor in the fourth quarter, taking home 24% of total shipments. Cupertino also ended the year as the top supplier, surpassing Samsung for the first time on an annual basis. Smartphone shipments for the fourth quarter of 2023 reached 320 million units, an increase of 8 percentage points compared to the fourth quarter of 2022.
The fourth quarter of 2023 was also the first quarter with positive growth after seven consecutive quarters of decline. Canalys estimates 1.1 billion smartphone shipments for 2023, which is a decline of 4 percentage points compared to 2022 values.
In the fourth quarter of 2023, Apple led the way with 24% of all shipments thanks to strong demand for its iPhone 15 series. Samsung came in second with 17% of the market, but lost share in the low-end segment . Xiaomi (13%) ranked third, while Transsion (9%) continued its rise and ended the quarter as the fourth smartphone vendor. Vivo (7%) rounded out the top five.
Global Smartphone Market Share Breakdown (Canalys Preliminary Smartphone Market Pulse: Q4 2023)
Analysts at Canalys suggest that the recovery in demand has been fueled by markets in the Middle East, Africa, Asia Pacific and Latin America. In particular, low- and mid-range devices were the main drivers of growth. Looking ahead, Canalys expects on-device AI to be the primary focus for high-end devices launched in 2024, with major players looking to support their goals of capturing greater market demand.
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