Despite the growth of homegrown smartphone companies in China, the actual global race in the sector has been between Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) and South Korea’s Samsung.
Samsung is the world’s largest smartphone manufacturer. It also makes batteries, displays, and chips. The parent company, Samsung Electronics, had revenue of $198 billion last year. Based on its market cap, Samsung is the largest corporation in South Korea.
Counted by the sale of individual models, according to a new CounterPoint study, among the top 10 best-selling smartphones, “Apple and Samsung captured all the spots with 5 entries each.” The figures cover the fourth quarter of 2023.
The iPhone 15 Pro Max is the most popular model, with a 5% share of global sales in the period measured. It is followed by the iPhone 15, iPhone 15 Pro, and iPhone 14. This exemplifies how Apple continues to do well with older-generation phones. (Here are five reasons to avoid Apple products today.)
The best-selling model in Samsung’s lineup is the A54. Its primary features are its 6.4-inch screen and 5,000 mAh battery, which Samsung says is among the fastest charging systems in the world.
Despite the success of the iPhone 15, the new Counterpoint study tells a slightly different story than other information on iPhone sales. Early measures of China’s smartphone activity in the first several weeks of 2024 show iPhone sales plunged by double digits from the year before. China is the world’s largest smartphone market, so sales there are critical to Apple.
Apple’s future, now undermined by antitrust suits and the lack of an AI-based product, rides to a large extent on the success of the iPhone 16, which is likely to be released in September. Any weakness in its sales will give investors another reason to dump Apple’s stock, which is already down 10% this year, while the broader market is up 10%.
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