More than a third of smartphone users globally carry an iPhone in their pocket. They reveal it data from a new study by Statistawhich shows how Apple’s gap over Samsung in smartphone usage shares widened further between 2022 and 2023.
The precise data indicates that among smartphone owners, 35.3% are Apple usersagainst the 29.8% who instead rely on the ecosystem of the Korean giant.
Il concept of “smartphone owners” it is not entirely comparable to the actual market shares, which are calculated differently based on the devices shipped, i.e. shipped from the factories and placed in the commercial chain. The trend reflected in the study, however, is the same as that we had already observed in the market data of Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker by IDC published in January, which had caused discussion precisely because of Apple (20.1%) overtaking Samsung (19.4%) in market shares after 13 years of Korean domination.
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In the most recent study the gap is even wider: it is a direct consequence, according to Stocklytics analysts who aggregated the data of the limited but always constant growth in iPhone sales over the last 3 years in the face of the continuous decline of Samsung devices. The comparison is particularly unfortunate when considering the estimates of units shipped each year over the last decade: in 2013 Samsung dominated the market with 316.4 million smartphones shipped, compared to Apple’s 153 million; fast forward to to 2023, and the roles are reversedwith Apple putting 235 million devices on the market last year, compared to Samsung’s 227 million.
It’s hard to find a single reason for this clear trend. Apple has certainly maintained greater consistency in the evolution of devices, both in design and in the incremental innovation strategy, while Samsung has invested in radical changes and above all in niche, still negligible, of leaflets. However, perhaps the simplest explanation is not to be found in the possible merits of Apple or demerits of Korean competitors.
If you look at the variation of numbers of Statista regarding smartphones owned, we note that the most significant variation concerns neither Apple nor Samsung, but Huawei, a brand that is relevant as a smartphone manufacturer only in China and has almost disappeared on the international market. The Asian giant went from 12.3% of users in 2021 to 6.5% in 2023, while Xiaomi and other Chinese brands have acquired some of the market shares and the impression is that many have taken the opportunity to move not from Huawei to another Android, but to an iOS phone.
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Finally, it is good to remember that these data, although useful to outline market trends, must then also be associated with other statistics: those relating to the division of profits in the smartphone market. In this case, Cupertino has been leaving only crumbs to its competitors for years now.
According to one study published at the beginning of February by Counterpoint Research, in the premium smartphone segment (i.e. those costing at least $600) Apple dominates unchallenged with 73% share (slightly down from 75% in 2022); they follow Samsung with less than a fifth of the market shares and Huawei with 5%demonstrating that what still keeps the Shenzhen giant going are the ultra-expensive smartphones it produces for the vast Chinese market.
That’s not all: the Apple’s position in the premium market it also brings another, fundamental advantage. Despite pandemics, wars and recessions, last year one in every four smartphones sold belonged to the premium range above $600 and a third of these smartphones cost more than $1000. If we consider that Apple dominates the segment with three-quarters of the market shares, it is easy to understand where they ended up most of the revenues of the smartphone market. In Cupertino, obviously.