Apple is set to overtake Samsung to become the world’s top smartphone vendor by market share in 2023, according to International Data Corporation (IDC) data, the first time in more than a decade that the top spot has changed hands.

According to the report, this growth is a direct result of its increased shipments across various quarters. In the fourth quarter of 2023, Apple shipped a total of 80.5 million iPhone units, representing an increase of 11.6% year-on-year.

This is despite a 3.2% year-on-year decline in global smartphone shipments to 1.17 billion units in 2023. And currently, Apple has 20.1% market share compared to Samsung’s 19.4% and Xiaomi’s 12.5%.

IDC says Apple’s growth primarily stems from its growing popularity in emerging markets. “While we saw some strong growth from low-tier Android players like Transcen and Xiaomi in the second half of 2023, stemming from faster growth in emerging markets, the biggest winner is clearly Apple,” IDC said.

Furthermore, despite facing increasing competition from brands like Huawei in China, Apple is the only company among the top three (Apple, Samsung and Xiaomi) to show positive annual growth.

The report also said that Apple’s growth and Samsung’s decline are due to the Android market “diversifying within itself”. Huawei is definitely back on track, and other companies including Google and OnePlus are launching competing products.

That said, the current top 5 smartphone companies in terms of total 2023 smartphone shipments are:

– Apple: 234.6 million

– Samsung: 226.6 million

– Xiaomi: 145.9 million

– Oppo: 103.1 million

– Transition: 94.9 million