The market analysis agency Counterpoint Research has just published its latest data on the global smartphone market. Data that places Apple as the market leader, ousting its eternal rival Samsung.
The data that this source now shares refers to the last quarter of 2022. It was in the last months of last year when the North American technology company registered significant growth that catapulted it to the first position in this fierce market.
Apple grows 42% by the end of 2022 and is the new market leader
According to data published by Counterpoint Research, Apple grew 42% between October and December 2022. This growth allowed the company to capture 23% of the market compared to a modest 16% in previous quarters.
As expected, the reason for this expressive growth was the launch of the iPhone 14 series. Despite the price increase felt mainly in Europe, Apple saw in these products its “goose that lays the golden eggs” and that allows it to to be the best seller in the world.
This position is even more significant if we take into account that Apple operates only in the segment premium, with products to sell over €1000. On the other hand, Samsung has a broader portfolio, with proposals for different portfolios.
It is in the North American market where Apple’s dominance is most expressive, gaining the preference of 57% of the market. On the contrary, it ranks second in Europe, fourth in Latin America, and not even in the top five in the Middle East and Africa.
This scenario reflects the purchasing power of the last mentioned markets, where few users have the means to buy Apple products. For this reason, they opt for more affordable offers from brands such as Samsung, Xiaomi, OPPO, Motorola or Tecno.
It should be noted that OPPO was the only company in the global top-5 to register growth in the last quarter of 2022. Chinese technology registered growth of 4%, which allows it to secure the fourth position in this hierarchy.
Samsung continues to dominate the European market
One consequence of Apple’s growth is Samsung’s decline to second place worldwide. Here, South Korean technology represents 15% of the market, reflecting a drop of 16% compared to 2021 and 9% compared to the third quarter of 2022.
When we look at Europe, the picture is different. Here, Samsung is still the leader with a market share of 31%. In this market we see Apple in second place, followed by Xiaomi, OPPO and Realme.
Looking at the market as a whole, Counterpoint Research reports the worst annual performance since 2013. Last year, there was a 12% drop in smartphone shipments, meaning “only” 1.2 billion were shipped.