Samsung to maintain global phone shipment lead as S23 series picks up steam

Samsung's phone shipments for 2023 are expected to decline year-on-year, but despite the downturn, the company will likely maintain the lead over global smartphone sales and stay ahead of Apple.

Industry watchers estimate that Samsung's phone shipments for 2023 will accumulate to 220-230 million shipments, declining by more than 30 million units shipped from 2022 (via The Elec).

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In the first quarter of 2023, Samsung shipped ~60 million Galaxy phones. In the 2nd and 3rd quarters, the company reached ~53 million and ~59 million shipments, respectively.

This amounts to ~172 million Galaxy phones shipped in the first three quarters of 2023. Rough estimates indicate that, by the end of the year, the company may increase shipments to 220-230 million units.

Apple still unable to overtake Samsung's yearly shipments

Even though Samsung's shipments will likely drop year-on-year, industry watchers don't expect Apple to do any better in the current market conditions. The iPhone maker is unlikely to exceed 210 million shipments in 2023, which will allow Samsung to maintain the lead over the global market.

As far as Samsung's performance in Q4 is concerned, industry experts say that Galaxy Z Fold 5 and Galaxy Z Flip 5 shipments may fall short of expectations. But, interestingly enough, the Galaxy S23 series — which Samsung released in early 2023 — might pick up some steam before the end of the year and help the company to a more positive outcome.

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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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