Apple’s (AAPL) smartphone shipments fell about 10% in the first quarter of 2024 as competition from Android smartphone makers vying for the top spot intensified, data from research firm IDC showed.
Global smartphone shipments increased 7.8% to 289.4 million units in January-March, with Samsung taking a 20.8% market share to become the top phone maker after Apple.
The iPhone maker’s sharp sales decline came after its strong performance in the December quarter, when it overtook Samsung as the world’s No.1 phone maker. Apple was second with a 17.3% market share as Chinese brands such as Huawei stepped up competition.
Xiaomi, one of the leading smartphone makers in China, took the third position with a market share of 14.1% in the first quarter.
South Korean company Samsung, which launched its latest flagship smartphone line, the Galaxy S24, earlier this year, has shipped more than 60 million phones during this period. Global sales of the Galaxy S24 smartphones increased 8% compared to last year’s Galaxy S23 series during their first three weeks of availability, data provider Counterpoint reported.
Apple shipped 50.1 million iPhones in the first quarter, up from 55.4 million units in the same period last year, according to IDC. Apple’s smartphone shipments in China fell 2.1% in the final quarter of 2023 from a year earlier.
The drop underscores the challenges the American company faces in its biggest market, as some Chinese companies and government agencies restrict the use of Apple devices amid geopolitical tensions with the United States.
