According to a report from International Data Corp ‘’Apple has overtaken Samsung to become the world’s top selling brand, after commanding a 20% market share in 2023.’’

Samsung ended the year with a 19.4% share, followed by China’s Xiaomi (1810.HK), opens new tab, Oppo and Transsion, preliminary data from IDC’s Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker showed.

The shift in rankings is a result of a challenging year where consumers delayed smartphone upgrades and opted for less expensive models due to high inflation and economic uncertainties.

Additionally, a slower-than-anticipated recovery in China, the largest smartphone market globally, had a negative impact on overall phone sales.

In the past year, only Apple and Transsion, known for Tecno, Infinix, and itel brands, experienced growth in smartphone sales among the top five vendors. This growth occurred despite a 3.2% decline in the overall market, reaching a ten-year low of 1.17 billion units.

IDC’s Worldwide Tracker team research director Nabila Popal said that “While we saw some strong growth from low-end Android players like Transsion and Xiaomi in the second half of 2023, stemming from rapid growth in emerging markets, the biggest winner is clearly Apple.”