The mobile phone market remains huge, but its size will shrink slightly in 2023. This is also seen in the annual summary published by consultancy IDC, which reflects how global sales have fallen, but does not apply to everyone. There is actually a company that saves furniture in an extraordinary way.

Apple sells more than anyone else. The last time a company other than Samsung led in mobile sales was in 2010. Since then, the South Korean company dominated in sales volume, but in 2023, this streak came to an end, as Apple managed to surpass it and become the best-selling manufacturer. Most smartphones: 234.6 million, Samsung’s 226.6 million. This is a historic event and is worrying for the Android market for one important reason.

People increasingly want premium mobile phones. Midrange and entry-level series are becoming less popular, and users are increasingly investing in their mobile devices. Even as Apple and Samsung have signed up to launch increasingly ambitious and expensive terminals, with Apple and Samsung gaining an almost 90% share in this segment, the rest of the rivals remain vying for crumbs. Only Huawei (especially valuable), Xiaomi and Oppo achieve some relevance.

Cupertino started well. Already at the beginning of 2023, a clear trend was seen in the smartphone market. A period in which Apple led sales and continued to grow while its competitors slowed down. The iPhone’s popularity skyrocketed once again, with the Cupertino company placing eight of its handsets among the top ten best-selling products.

Source: IDC.

There is a global decline in sales but there is optimism. The market has long shown signs of saturation, with 2023 being the worst year in terms of global sales in a decade. According to IDC, the 3.2% decline is due to macroeconomic difficulties and very high inventories at the beginning of the year. However, they guarantee that the recovery will occur in 2024. It has already been noticed that in the last quarter of 2023, 8.5% more terminals were sold than in the same period of 2022, when a growth of 7.3% is expected.

Infection? Who is Transsion? The surprise of the year is Transsion, an entry-level terminal maker that has had tremendous success in Africa, with a 40% share of devices with at least four SIMs. Another key to their devices: They pay particular attention to the fidelity of faces with darker skin tones.

Xiaomi has regained its ground. Samsung sold 13.6% less in 2023 compared to 2022 and also fell 10.9% in the last quarter of the year; This seems to jeopardize its position this year compared to its other major rival, Xiaomi. The Chinese manufacturer sold 4.7% less in 2023, but recorded an encouraging growth of 22.7% in the last quarter of the year compared to the same period in 2022. This appears to signal a notable recovery from a rival that is dangerously close to Samsung’s market share (12.5% ​​compared to 19.4%), especially if Samsung continues to lose integers.

Image | Amanz

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