Samsung takes the lead back from Apple as phone shipments decline

The global smartphone market suffered its fifth consecutive quarterly shipment decline. However, industry watchers say that the market is showing signs of stability. And amid all this, Samsung was the only leading smartphone vendor to experience a quarter-on-quarter recovery in Q1 2023 as it climbed back into the lead above Apple and all other brands.

However, compared to Q1 2022, Samsung's global smartphone shipment share dropped from 24% to 22%, while Apple's share increased from 18% to 21% year-on-year. Xiaomi's share also dropped from 13 to 11%.

Samsung climbs back into the lead

According to Canalys, Samsung struggled back to the top of the global smartphone market (shipment-wise) in Q1 2023, while Apple's share declined from Q4 2022 to the point where the US company lost the lead to Samsung.

This is par for the course. Q4 usually is Apple's strongest quarter, as the company releases new iPhones near the end of each year. And conversely, Q1 is a strong quarter for Samsung, as the tech giant releases new Galaxy S flagships.

Nevertheless, it is worth noting that the gap between Samsung and Apple in terms of shipment market share in Q1 2023 wasn't as big as it was in the previous first quarters, signaling that Apple has narrowed the gap with Samsung this year.

Canalys states that these are estimates, and exact shipment figures may differ. Nevertheless, “the smartphone market's decline in the first quarter of 2023 was within expectations throughout the industry.”

Mihai Matei - Senior Editor

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First Samsung device: SGH-A800

Mihai is a blogger and column writer at SamMobile. His first Samsung phone was an A800 which took a lot of beating, and a part of him still misses the novelty of the clamshell design. In his free time, he enjoys watching shows, documentaries, and stand-up comedy; listening to music, taking walks, and occasionally playing old(er) video games.

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