Worldwide smartphone shipments are set to decline even worse than previously anticipated, but Apple’s global market share will actually grow to a new all-time high, according to market research released by IDC.
According to the research, global smartphone shipments in 2023 will decline by 4.7% to 1.15 billion compared to last year, which would actually be worse than a previous estimate of 3.2%. IDC expects the market to strongly rebound in 2024 with 4.5% year-over-year growth in worldwide shipments, before decreasing to an average growth rate of 1.7% over the next five years.
Despite these gloomy predictions, the iPhone market share will actually grow by 1.1% YoY in 2023, reaching a record 19.9% worldwide market share as most iPhone buyers remain unfazed by economic turmoil and unprecedented inflation rates around the world. In the meantime, Android global shipments will see a massive hit of 6% this year, with particular blame put on the Latin America and Western Europe markets as both are set to decline by 6.2% and 6.1%, respectively.
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IDC offers a number of reasons as to why the iPhone continues to defy market trends. Apple and other merchants have been generous with their trade-in offers, in addition to the continued expansion of “buy now, pay later” (BNPL) schemes. This helped the premium $800+ smartphone segment to decline the least, shrinking by just 1.7% as all other price categories declined by double digits. IDC also points out that the used smartphone market has been particularly sturdy as it grew by double digits during 2022, further contributing to the observed shipment decline of new phones.
Apple will announce the iPhone 15 lineup at its “Wonderlust” event on September 12, and a number of analysts expect good shipment figures overall for the iPhone 15. With expected strong demand for the premium iPhone 15 Pro Max, Apple could be looking at notable revenue growth going into 2024.
