DIGIVESTASI - Apple will outperform Samsung in the global smartphone market for the first time in 2023. This is the result of a survey reported by research company IDC, quoted by Gizchina, Wednesday (17/1/2024). 

This marks a significant change, given Samsung's long dominance since 2010 (13 years ago), when Nokia controlled a third of the market share.

Meanwhile, Xiaomi, Oppo, and Transsion entered the top 5 global mobile phone brands with mobile phone sales of 145.9 million, 103.1 million, and 94.9 million, respectively. 

Nabila Popal, research director at IDC Worldwide Tracker, attributes Apple's continued success to the growing popularity of high-end devices, which account for more than 20% of the market. 

"This increase was fueled by the strategic execution of aggressive takeover deals and interest-free financing plans by the Cupertino-based tech giant," said Nabila. 

She believes Apple's expertise in solving challenges puts it at the forefront of the ever-changing global smartphone landscape.

Fierce competition with Chinese phones 
IDC notes that the last time Samsung was not in the top spot was 13 years ago, in 2010. Back then, Apple wasn't even in the top five. 

On the other hand, Nokia ranked first, Samsung ranked second, LG Electronics ranked third, ZTE ranked fourth, and Research in Motion (maker of BlackBerry devices) ranked fifth.

"Apple was not only the only company in the Top 3 to show positive year-on-year growth, but it also took the top spot year-on-year for the first time," said Nabila.  

While IDC noted that Apple played a significant role in dethroning Samsung from the top spot, the company also saw strong competition from other Android manufacturers such as Huawei, OnePlus, Honor, and Google. . It's not just Samsung that poses a challenge to these companies, Canalys notes that Huawei's "growing power" could also be a problem for Apple's growth in the Chinese market. 

Reports last year showed that Huawei attempted to circumvent US sanctions and integrated an advanced 7nm processor from Chinese chipmaker Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp (SMIC) into its Mate 60 Pro smartphone, which is capable of surpassing 5G network speeds.

Sales drop, Apple drops iPhone 15 price to $1 million in China 
On the other hand, Apple is offering a special discount for the iPhone 15 in China. The discount is just right, namely 500 yuan or the equivalent of IDR 1 million. 

Apparently as quoted by Reuters, Tuesday (16/1/2024), the iPhone 15 price reduction was carried out in line with the tight competition in the smartphone market in China. 

So this is one of Apple's efforts to win the competition in the country. Not only the price of the iPhone 15 series was reduced. Apple, headquartered in Cupertino, USA, also reduced the prices of several other iPhone models by up to 5%. 
News of the iPhone price drop was first seen on Apple China's website last Monday. 

However, the discount offered is limited, namely only from January 18 to 21, 2024. This iPhone price drop is also called the Chinese New Year event. 

iPhone 15 sales decline in China 
Information says, in the few months since its launch, sales of the iPhone 15 series are considered the worst compared to previous iPhone models. Moreover, Apple's local competitors such as Huawei and Xiaomi are now offering advanced smartphone models at competitive prices. 

Some sources also mentioned that some Chinese companies and ministries have banned their employees from using Apple devices. This appears to be a response to US policies that prohibit officials from using Chinese applications because they are considered dangerous. 

For information, iPhone sales in China fell 30% in the first week of 2024 compared to the same period last year. Analysts at Jefferies said iPhone sales in China will fall 3% throughout 2023.

Apple didn't lower iPhone prices last year 

The iPhone price drop comes after Apple surprised the market by not raising the price of the iPhone 15 series launched in September last year. 

Several online shopping platforms in China, including Pinduoduo, have reduced the prices of the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Pro by up to 16% since the beginning of the year. 

Nicole Peng, senior vice president of market research firm Canalys, said Apple's iPhone 15 series price drop is no surprise. In addition, Apple is under pressure to increase sales globally, especially in China.