FILE – The Apple emblem is illuminated at a retailer within the metropolis heart of Munich, Germany, Dec. 16, 2020. Apple plans to droop gross sales of the Collection 9 and Extremely 2 variations of its well-liked Apple Look ahead to on-line U.S. clients starting Thursday afternoon, Dec. 21, 2023, and in its shops on Sunday, Dec. 24. The transfer stems from an October resolution from the Worldwide Commerce Fee proscribing Apple’s watches with a Blood Oxygen characteristic as a part of an mental property dispute with medical know-how firm Masimo. (AP Picture/Matthias Schrader, File)

(NewsNation) — Apple beat out Samsung in smartphone shipments in 2023, overtaking an organization that held the highest spot for greater than a decade.

In response to preliminary knowledge from the Worldwide Information Company (IDC) Worldwide Quarterly Cellular Cellphone Tracker, Apple shipped 234.6 million smartphones final 12 months, 8 million greater than Samsung’s 226.6 million. One other analysis company, Canalys, additionally has Apple atop the market.

Apple’s efficiency got here despite international telephone shipments dropping 3.2% 12 months over 12 months to 1.17 billion items, in response to IDC. It’s the bottom full-year quantity in a decade, which IDC attributes to macroeconomic challenges and elevated stock.

“Whereas we noticed some sturdy development from low-end Android gamers like Transsion and Xiaomi within the second half of 2023, stemming from speedy development in rising markets, the most important winner is clearly Apple,” Nabila Popal, analysis director with IDC’s Worldwide Tracker group, stated in a information launch. “Not solely is Apple the one participant within the High 3 to indicate constructive development yearly, but in addition luggage the number one spot yearly for the primary time ever.”

The final time Samsung wasn’t atop the smartphone market was in 2010, when Nokia shipped probably the most. That 12 months, Samsung was in second, LG in third, ZTE in fourth and Analysis in Movement (the Blackberry producer) fifth.

In 2023, Xiaomi, OPPO and Transsion rounded out the highest 5. All are Chinese language corporations, which IDC notes are more and more creating stiffer competitors for each U.S.-based Apple and South Korea-based Samsung.

“The general shift in rating on the high of the market additional highlights the depth of competitors inside the smartphone market,” stated Ryan Reith, group vp with IDC’s Worldwide Mobility and Shopper Machine Trackers. “Apple definitely performed an element in Samsung’s drop in rank, however the general Android area is diversifying inside itself.”