On May 16, Patently Apple posted a report titled "Apple Shines in a Declining Southeast Asia Smartphone Market just as Apple's CEO confirmed earlier this month. The Southeast Asian market covers Indonesia, Thailand, Philippines, Malaysia and Vietnam. While our report noted that the demand for the iPhone 13 and 14 series was good in Vietnam in Q1 2023 there was no specific breakout from the other countries as to specifics. In total Apple grew 18% in Southeast Asia.

Earlier this week, Counterpoint posted a report specifically on the smartphone market in Vietnam. Overall, this market dropped 30% in Q1 2023, their biggest decline ever. The only bright spot amongst the top five smartphone vendors was Apple growing 12% overtaking Xiaomi and significantly narrowing the gap with second place OPPO as noted in the chart below.

(Click on Chart to Enlarge)

Counterpoint noted that "Apple climbed to third place in Q1 2023. There was high demand for the iPhone 14 Pro series early in the quarter. Apple unexpectedly cut iPhone prices during the quarter to boost demand and clear the high inventory in channels. The price of the iPhone 14 Pro Max was lowered by an average of 12% in Q1 2023 compared with its launch price. Due to the reduced iPhone prices, Apple shipments increased 12% YoY in Q1 2023. This helped the >$600 price band capture a 24% share of the market in Q1 2023, compared to just 17% in Q1 2022.

Samsung was the top brand in Q1 2023 with a 30% market share, despite a whopping 32% YoY fall in in shipments during the quarter. Samsung ranked foremost because if its better portfolio and competitive models.

For more details on Apple's competitors, read the full Counterpoint report.