Samsung regains the top spot, while Apple loses the lead.

Apple's iPhone shipments fell by almost 10% worldwide in the first quarter of 2024, due to a rapid increase in shipments from competing Chinese suppliers, according to data published by International Data Corporation (IDC).

Specifically, Apple's shipments decreased by 9.6% in the first quarter, reaching 50.1 million units, compared to 55.4 million units in the same period last year. This was the largest annual decline among the top five smartphone brands included in the report.

Samsung regains the market leader position it had lost to Apple the previous year, with around 60.1 million units shipped and a market share of 20.8%, remaining at about the same level as last year. This represents an increase from the previous quarter of 2023, when its market share was 22.5%.

In contrast, Apple, which last year had overtaken Samsung for the first time, saw a drop in market share from 20.7% to 17.3%.

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Ryan Reith, vice president of IDC Worldwide Mobility and Consumer Device Trackers, commented: "While we expect these two companies to maintain their position at the top of the market, Huawei's re-entry into China, along with the impressive gains of Xiaomi, Transsion, OPPO/OnePlus and vivo, will likely impact both companies as they look for new areas of growth and diversification."

Apple is facing difficulties in maintaining interest in the iPhone 15 in the Chinese market, which has been affected both by the release of the Huawei Mate 60 and by the bans imposed by the Chinese state on various state-owned enterprises, especially in sectors such as energy, shipbuilding, mining, manufacturing, education and investment.

The decline in Apple's shipments occurred amid a period where global smartphone shipments increased by 7.8% year-on-year, reaching 289.4 million units. This represents the third consecutive quarter of growth in the global market, according to IDC.

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