Earlier this morning we reported that Apple was the leader in smartphone shipments in China for Q1 2023. In our second statistical report of the day we cover the Global Smartphone market in Q1 2023.

Canalys reports that global smartphone shipments fell by 13% to 269.8 million units in Q1 2023. While Samsung squeezed into the first position with 22% market share with a negative -18% annual growth, Apple came in second with 21% market share with 3% annual growth. Apple was the only OEM that delivered growth in the quarter. To be sure, Samsung's victory is shallow considering the shear number of smartphone models that they sell including a number of foldables in contrast to Apple's reserved iPhone lineup.

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Samsung will have to navigate through a difficult landscape going forward, particularly as entry-level device inventory remains high. Declining profits from its semiconductor memory business will also trigger a more conservative marketing spend overall.

Meanwhile, Apple had robust performance in Q1, particularly in the Asia Pacific region. Here, Apple’s sustained investments into offline channels enabled it to attract a burgeoning middle-class, which places high value on the in-store purchasing experience.” For more on this, read the full report by Canalys.