Apple surpasses Samsung to become the leading mobile seller

According to International Data Corp, Apple ended Samsung's 12-year reign as the world's biggest mobile seller in 2023 by taking a 20% market share.

According to preliminary statistics from IDC's Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker, Samsung had a 19.4% market share at the end of the year, followed by Xiaomi, Oppo, and Transsion from China.

The shift in rankings follows a challenging year in which rising inflation and wider macroeconomic uncertainties caused people to replace their smartphones less frequently.

The world's largest smartphone market, China, has seen a slower-than-expected rebound, which has affected global phone sales.

Only Transsion and Apple had an increase in shipments among the top five brands in the previous year when the market fell 3.2% to 1.17 billion units and reached a ten-year low.

But in China, low-cost Chinese manufacturers and a resurgent Huawei are putting pressure on Apple. To entice buyers, the iPhone manufacturer is providing exceptional discounts of up to 5% on some models within the nation.

(Sources: investing.com, reuters.com)