Apple becomes global smartphone market leader

Apple’s iPhone in 2023 unseated Samsung as the smartphone market leader by volume, reflecting a willingness among consumers to trade up used devices – and it means that Apple’s ecosystem grows even more in importance for marketers. 

What’s going on 

Apple was the only major device maker to see any shipment growth, according to IDC data reported by the FT.

With 3.7% unit growth to reach 20.1% market share in 2023, Apple finally nudged ahead of Samsung’s 19.4% share (representing a 13.6% year-on-year unit decline).

Elsewhere, Chinese manufacturer Transsion saw 30.8% growth to reach 8.1% of the global market, largely because of its dominance in Africa. 

Why Apple’s growth matters

The smartphone market is maturing with fewer new buyers acquiring their first phone; having experienced the importance of a quality device, it appears that many people want Apple. 

Across the world, people are upgrading less frequently but it appears that when they do they want feature-rich devices that will last them several years. 

Beyond brand

Of course, it’s not just a good phone or a well-constructed brand that smooths payments, but the ecosystem. In some territories it even brings users – increasingly a sports broadcaster and filmmaker – financial products, in addition to its hardware and software prowess. 

Its strongest recent growth has tended to come from Asia, with India a particularly bright market for the company. The draw of its status symbol is incredibly strong. 

The internet

The brand’s power really starts to show when looking at its effect on the internet and online advertising. Its tracking transparency feature changed the advertising market in a way that reshaped large parts of fellow tech titan Meta’s strategy. 

Until now, this had largely been an issue in large, wealthy markets like the US; today’s news indicates that the issue of Apple’s influence on the internet is a global phenomenon. 

Sourced from the FT, WARC 

[Image: Apple]