Samsung Topples Apple, Ships 60.3 Million Smartphones in Three Months

Samsung has shipped about 60.3 million units of smartphones during the first three months of 2023, thereby leading the smartphone shipment chart for the first quarter, of 2023.

Although the mobile company shipment dropped by 18 per cent amidst the ongoing challenging smartphone market landscape when compared to the same period last year, despite the big drop, this allowed it to gain a share of 22% topping the chart.

Samsung overtook Apple which came second with 58 million shipments, representing a growth of 3 per cent. Apple took 21% of the global smartphone market.

According to the research firm Canalys, Samsung’s top spot comes amid the whole market declining 13 per cent in terms of shipments.

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Runar Bjørhovde, a Canalys analyst also labelled Apple’s performance as “robust”, particularly in the Asia Pacific region.

“Here, Apple’s sustained investments into offline channels enabled it to attract a burgeoning middle-class, which places high value on the in-store purchasing experience,” he said.

Meanwhile, Xiaomi was in third with 30.5 million units, dropping 22 per cent, OPPO was in fourth with 26.6 million units, down 8 per cent, and vivo in fifth with 20.9 million units, declining 17 per cent.

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Canalys expects the smartphone market will gain momentum in the second half of the year as channel inventories reach healthier levels. Vendors are cautiously approaching the market with profitability targets, lean operations and inventory clearing as top priorities.

“However, for vendors with long-term ambitions and capital to invest, challenging market conditions provide an excellent environment to capture market share, showcase commitment and intentions to new markets, and establish close partnerships with the channel.”

Samsung has previously held onto the top place in the global smartphone vendor leaderboards in recent years, with it keeping the spot back in the third quarter of 2022. Back then, Canalys said the overall market experienced its worst Q3 for sell-in shipments since 2014.