Counterpoint data recently suggested that Apple beat Samsung in global smartphone sales across 2023, and a new report today suggests that the company set another iPhone record last year.
Despite surprise born-again competition from Huawei, the iPhone is reported to have been the most popular smartphone in China …
Last week’s report described the first iPhone record set in 2023.
The two main market intelligence companies both report that for the first time ever, Apple beat Samsung in global smartphone sales. The last time Samsung didn’t top the rankings was some 13 years ago, when the top-selling cellphone brand was … Nokia!
Today’s IDC report says that the same year saw the iPhone top sales in China for the first time ever.
Apple became the leading smartphone company in China for the first time with record high market share of 17.3% in 2023.
It does acknowledge that discounting was part of the reason for this, but all brands do this.
“Apple’s climb to the top spot in 2023, especially in light of renewed competition from Huawei and the soft spending sentiment, marks a tremendous success for Apple,” said Arthur Guo, senior research analyst in Client System Research for IDC China. “Apple achieved this thanks to timely price promotions in its third-party channels, which stimulated demand.”
The reference to Huawei is because the company – once out of the picture – has recently re-emerged as a key Apple competitor in the country.
iPhone sales in China are continuing to be affected by the surprise re-emergence of Huawei as a competitor in the premium smartphone market, says a new report.
US sanctions on China last year appeared to have removed Huawei as a serious iPhone competitor, but the company surprised the world when it launched the Mate 60.
That was such an unexpected twist that even the US National Security Advisor commented on it. While the launch happened too late for the company to make the top 5 list across the year as a whole, it did climb into 4th place in the final quarter of the year.
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