Apple is now the world's biggest phone maker as the market finally recovers

Apple is now the world’s biggest phone maker as the market finally recovers،

The global phone market is finally recovering from the post-pandemic crisis that lasted 9 consecutive quarters, and Apple is now officially the largest cell phone manufacturer in the world. It shipped 232.6 million iPhones last year, according to the latest Omdia figures, while Samsung follows with 225.3 million. Needless to say, the average selling price of Apple's iPhones is much higher, which also makes it the most profitable phone maker in the world.

However, the fastest growing phone carrier in the world is not Apple. Certainly, its iPhone 15 series is the booster that earned it first place in the 2023 rankings, especially the Pro range with its unprecedented zoom prowess which is selling like hot cakes.

However, in countries like China, Apple saw a nasty 12.9% drop in sales in the fourth quarter and, guess what, a lot of that went to Huawei. When Huawei announced that it was making a Mate series phone with a homebrew processor despite US chip sanctions, local pride significantly increased sales at home at the expense of Apple.

So, despite having difficulty selling its non-Android phones abroad, China remains the largest phone market in the world and the local buying frenzy has allowed Huawei to increase its 64% market share in 2023, the highest of any country. Industry.

Even then, Huawei barely managed to break into the honorable top 10, while other Chinese manufacturers recorded eye-popping sales figures. Xiaomi, for example, is now the world's largest Chinese phone maker and the third largest in the world with 146.7 million handsets shipped.

The world's largest phone maker isn't actually Apple

Global market share of phones from Apple, Samsung, Motorola, Oppo and others - Apple is now the world's largest phone maker as the market finally recovers

Global phone market share of Apple, Samsung, Motorola, Oppo and others

Oppo and its Galaxy-beating phone specs are No. 4 globally with 102.5 million, although its patent disputes with Nokia have kept it from selling in major markets for the past two years. Now that the 5G patent dispute has reached its legal resolution and Oppo can start selling in Europe again, it will likely climb just behind Apple and Samsung.

In fact, the umbrella holding company BBK, which phone brands Oppo, vivo, Realme and OnePlus inherited last year, is already the world's largest phone maker, and has been for quite a while now, when all these sister brands are taken into account. This is not surprising, considering that it has not only managed to overtake Apple and Samsung in terms of phone specifications in terms of price, but it also makes more powerful and sleeker foldable phones, which has prompted Samsung to take note and decide to go cheaper and thinner with the Z Fold range.