Samsung has regained its position as the top smartphone vendor, taking back the lead from Apple, while Chinese rivals are narrowing the gap between the two market leaders, industry tracking company International Data Corporation (IDC) said.
South Korea-based Samsung overtook Apple as global smartphone shipments rose nearly 8 percent in the first quarter of this year to 289.4 million units, IDC said, citing its own preliminary data.
According to IDC, this is the third consecutive quarter of growth in the global smartphone market, signaling that a recovery from the sector's slump is underway.
IDC Worldwide Mobility and Consumer Device Trackers team vice president Ryan Wright expects leading smartphone companies to increase their share and smaller brands to jockey for position as the recovery progresses.
According to IDC data, Samsung shipped 60.1 million smartphones in the first quarter of this year, taking nearly 21% of the market.
Apple shipped 50.1 million iPhones, gaining just over 17% of the market during the same period, IDC said.
Apple's smartphone shipments were down 9.6% from the previous quarter, while Samsung's shipments fell less than 1%, according to the company's market tracking data.
Meanwhile, China-based Xiaomi saw shipments rise about 33% to 40.8 million units and Transsion rose about 85% to 28.5 million units, taking the third and fourth positions in the overall smartphone market, IDC said.
"Although Apple was able to capture the top spot in late 2023, Samsung successfully established itself as the leading smartphone vendor in the first quarter," Wright said.
IDC expects Samsung and Apple to maintain their positions in the high-end of the smartphone market as Chinese rivals look to expand sales, according to Wright.
Nabila Popal, research director in IDC's global tracking team, said, "There has been a shift in the strength of the Top 5 companies that is likely to continue as market participants adapt their strategies in a post-recovery world.
"Xiaomi is coming back strong after the major declines it experienced over the past two years, and Transsion is becoming a solid Top 5 presence with aggressive growth in international markets."/BGNES
