Apple Loses Mantle as World's Biggest Phone Seller To Samsung as China Sales Drop (theguardian.com) 33
Apple has lost its spot as the world's biggest mobile phone seller after a steep sales drop as South Korean rival Samsung retook the lead in the global market share. From a report: Samsung had been the biggest seller of mobile phones for 12 years until the end of 2023, when sales of Apple's iPhone models overtook it. Global smartphone shipments increased by 8% to 289.4m units during January-March, according to research firm IDC. Samsung won a 20.8% market share, beating Apple's 17.3% share, which has been dented by slowing sales in China.
IDC said that Apple shipped 50.1m iPhones in the first quarter, down from the 55.4m units it shipped in the same period last year. It was the biggest drop in iPhone sales since Covid-19 lockdowns caused global supply chain chaos in 2022. The drop in Apple sales, despite a growing global market, was partly ascribed to difficulties in China. Local rivals including Xiaomi and Huawei have put pressure on Apple and Samsung. At the same time, China's government has moved to ban devices made by foreign companies from workplaces.
IDC said that Apple shipped 50.1m iPhones in the first quarter, down from the 55.4m units it shipped in the same period last year. It was the biggest drop in iPhone sales since Covid-19 lockdowns caused global supply chain chaos in 2022. The drop in Apple sales, despite a growing global market, was partly ascribed to difficulties in China. Local rivals including Xiaomi and Huawei have put pressure on Apple and Samsung. At the same time, China's government has moved to ban devices made by foreign companies from workplaces.
Bedtime (Score:1, Troll)
So, Apple getting into bed with the CCP and bending freedoms in the name of sales isn't working any longer? Say it isn't so.
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Re: Bedtime (Score:2, Insightful)
A lesson.
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Apple and Samsung Release Dates (Score:5, Insightful)
Isn't this simply explained by the release dates for Apple and Samsung flagship phones? The Apple 15 came out in September, so Q4 2023 was very good for Apple. The Samsung S24 was released in January, so Q1 2024 was better for Samsung.
Apple dropped from 24.7% market share in Q4 23 to 17.3% in Q1. They had a drop of 5.4% in 2022, 7.4% in 2021, and 6.7% in 2020 (from Q4 to Q1). 2023 was an oddity with only a 4.4% drop. This 7.4% drop is on the high end but still within the norm over the past few years.
Re:Apple and Samsung Release Dates (Score:5, Interesting)
Isn't this simply explained by the release dates for Apple and Samsung flagship phones?
No. While this idea is true, it's largely irrelevant to the current situation. Looking at YoY numbers that flatten out the release date artifacts, Samsung's YoY worldwide market share dropped very slightly (by 0.6%); Samsung is also largely irrelevant in China with less than a 2% market share. Meanwhile, looking at YoY global shipments, Apple dropped 5.3 million phones, while Xiaomi gained 10.3 million and Transsion gained 13.1 million. Apple is losing not to Samsung but to the Chinese companies.
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Isn't this simply explained by the release dates for Apple and Samsung flagship phones? The Apple 15 came out in September, so Q4 2023 was very good for Apple. The Samsung S24 was released in January, so Q1 2024 was better for Samsung.
Apple dropped from 24.7% market share in Q4 23 to 17.3% in Q1. They had a drop of 5.4% in 2022, 7.4% in 2021, and 6.7% in 2020 (from Q4 to Q1). 2023 was an oddity with only a 4.4% drop. This 7.4% drop is on the high end but still within the norm over the past few years.
Exactly what I was thinking. When you have an annual update cycle, quarter-to-quarter oscillations are to be expected.
Nothing to see here; move along. . .
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see the commet above for a more real opinion
Hey, my opinion was just as real as larryjoe's. His opinion was simply informed with a more data than mine, and therefore more accurate. I'd still contend we are both right. :-P
Interoperability! (Score:2, Interesting)
Apple's market dominance in the U.S. means that people with Android phones face significant headwinds. Being the only Android user in a group chat is its own special Hell. That lack of interoperability works against Apple in places where Android phones are more established. It is hard to convince people that your phone is so much better than theirs when every time you put a picture in a group chat it looks like you took the picture on a flip phone from 1995. Everyone else's pictures look fine. In these
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Even as to make it a way to discard potential romantic partners. As per some exchanges I've seen in social networks
"He looked fine and all, but then he got out his phone on the restaurant. Ewww. It was an Android! Awkward. There was no second date"
Re:Interoperability! (Score:4, Insightful)
...There was no second date...
That guy dodged a bullet there.
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It's an American thing because people in other places have noticed that you can install these things called "apps," many of which are cross platform.
Nobody in China gives a shit that iMessage gives them green bubbles because they use WeChat for everything, just like nobody in most other places cares because they use WhatsApp.
People who post about how dumb they are on social networks seems to be a global phenomenon.
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I think you probably meant to reply to the grandparent.
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You're saying foreigners don't have that obsession too? That's just BS. All humans have that disease, some cultures incubate it slightly more or less than others.
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Yeah, that's a somewhat American thing. People can consider you are poor and low status if you can't afford an Apple product.
The thing is, here in the ROTW, an Apple product is not a status symbol at all. Even someone on benefits (welfare) can get one... and British people are obsessed with class although ostentatious displays of wealth are not really upper class, they'll have an old Subaru and a cheap functional phone (and tons and tons of high value land they're not paying tax on).
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Apple's market dominance in the U.S. means that people with Android phones face significant headwinds. Being the only Android user in a group chat is its own special Hell. That lack of interoperability works against Apple in places where Android phones are more established. It is hard to convince people that your phone is so much better than theirs when every time you put a picture in a group chat it looks like you took the picture on a flip phone from 1995. Everyone else's pictures look fine. In these cases Apple is clearly the problem, and it is a bad look for Apple.
That doesn't stop iPhones from being a status symbol, and there are certain parts of the population, where all of the rich and powerful people have iPhones, where being part of the crowd is worth the price of entry. However, in a country where 90+% of the population is using Android you have to be pretty darn snooty to justify buying an iPhone. I suspect that is a very hard market to sell into.
That Data Decimation of your Images is the fault of your Carrier, not Appke.
Go rail at them.
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Nope it's 100% Apple.
But the blind fanbois will blame anyone but themselves.
Wrong. It's the Carriers. Apple doesn't downsample MMS Images/Videos; your Carrier does.
But perhaps this obviously 'Android-Hating' site will teach you where the blame really lies. Read It and Weep:
https://www.androidpolice.com/... [androidpolice.com]
BTW, the iOS App Store has dozens of Cross-Platform Encrypted Messaging Apps, including all the Big Names (e.g. Telegram, Signal, Discord, etc). And bonus: Many of them have Advanced Features that iMessage just can't touch! So, Why don't you and your buddies decide on one and be h
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Nope. Apple could fix it but choose not to because they are scum.
100% Apple's fault.
Apple fanbois will never understand though. Not the sharpest tools in the shed.
Could fix what, exactly?
Apple doesn't control wireless carriers; and there are already ample alternatives to iMessage.
Stop being such a Snowflake!
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I just switched to an iPhone from Apple a little over a year ago due to my new car only having CarPlay functionality but no Android Auto. The lack of RCS compatibility has been one of the stupidest things. I would understand it if Apple had a superior platform for post-SMS chat, but RCS is just as good (if not better) than messages/FaceTime. They're maintaining incompatibility at this point just to "prove a point" and they're just wrong.
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Apple does have a superior platform for messaging with features beyond the SMS standard. It's called iMessage. And no, despite what the slashdot groupthink would have you believe, iMessage does not degrade SMS functionality in any way. As for RCS... never mind the fact that there is no single universal RCS implementation out there... you should really do a feature-by-feature comparison between iMessage and RCS. If you're hinest about it and looking at the actual technology without the blinders of idiolo
War with China (Score:2)
How's that working out? Maybe we should try being friends with the world for the good of humanity instead devolving into tribalism and foolish nationalism?
Profits. (Score:1)