Apple overtakes Samsung in Smartphone Sales for the first time in 12 years

Apple ended Samsung Electronics' 12-year run as the largest seller of smartphones in the world after commanding a 20 percent share of the market in 2023, according to data from International Data Corp. Samsung ended the year with a 19.4 percent share, followed by China's Xiaomi, Oppo and Transsion, preliminary data from IDC's Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker showed.

The change in ranking comes after a tough year that saw consumers going slow on smartphone upgrades due to broader macro uncertainty and high inflation. A slower-than-expected recovery in China, the world's largest smartphone market, also weighed on overall phone sales.

Apple and Transsion were the only brands in the top five to record growth in shipments last year when the market declined 3.2 percent to 1.17 billion units and hit a decade low. Apple, however, is facing pressure in China from a resurgent Huawei as well as from budget Chinese brands. The iPhone maker is offering rare discounts of as much as 5 percent on some models in the country to attract customers.