Samsung surpasses Apple in Q123 global sales

Despite poor market conditions for smartphones in the first quarter of 2023, with every manufacturer experiencing a decline in sales. Samsung made an exception and topped the global market share during that period with a 5.5% increase from Q422.

According to market intelligence firm TrendForce, Samsung’s Q1 sales were boosted by the success of its recent flagship, the Galaxy S23 series, which sold over 61.5 million units.

In comparison, Apple had fairly strong sales of the iPhone 14 series in Q422. However, the company saw a 27.5% decline QoQ, selling 53.3 million units. The iPhone 14 series accounted for 78% of that amount.

Meanwhile, Oppo and its subsidiaries, Realme and OnePlus, sold 26.8 million phones in Q1, representing a 17% quarterly decrease.

Xiaomi, which owns Redmi and Poco, shipped 26.5 million units, down 27.4% from the previous year’s quarter. Vivo and its sub-brand iQoo combined sales reached 20 million, a 14.2% quarter-on-quarter decrease.

Image/ TrendForce

TrendForce further claims that the current economic downturn has resulted in a rise in activity within used phone and repair markets, which may impede growth in Q2 smartphone production.

And the firm predicts that there will still be a 10% decrease in smartphone production when compared to the same quarter in the previous year.