Apple has surpassed Samsung to become the leading smartphone company by volume sales in 2023. Apple company has held the position for the first time since 2010. Apple’s iPhone shipments exceeded 234.6 million units, while Samsung’s were 226.6 million. This shipment in the smartphone market is due to several factors. The increasing popularity of iPhones and the broader smartphone market being more competitive are the key points for this success.

Apple and Samsung are in a long-term battle. This long-running battle has taken a new twist at the moment. According to Counterpoint Research, new data shows that Apple has become the world’s number-one smartphone brand for the first quarter of 2025. Both of these tech giants got off to a roaring start. Apple dropped the iPhone 16e, while Samsung rolled out the Galaxy S25 series.

But how is this possible?

Both of these tech giants got off to an amazing start. Apple dropped the iPhone 16e, while Samsung rolled out the Galaxy S25 series almost simultaneously. But after the weeks, things turned out dramatically. Samsung experienced some slowdowns and delays in sales, while Apple was steady. In markets where Apple didn’t usually sell a lot of iPhones, but iPhone 16e did very well in sales. The unexpected boost put Apple on top, and Samsung rolled back.

However, Samsung didn’t go back too far either. It grabbed 18% of the market. The S25 series suffered a big blow as it arrived in the market. Samsung’s numbers started to perform much better than previously, in March. Other brands are also going on. Especially in newer markets, Xiaomi is growing very fast. OPPO held firm in the top five.

The $2.8tn (£2.2tn) US tech company commanded a 20.1% market share ahead of Samsung’s 19.4%, the IDC said. Apple is well established as the largest smartphone maker in terms of revenues and profits, but this is the first time it has led the market in terms of volume.

The sales data came before the latest release of Samsung models on Wednesday, with the South Korean conglomerate expected to release the Galaxy S24, S24 Plus and S24 Ultra with artificial intelligence-backed features.

Ben Wood, the chief analyst at the research firm CCS Insight, said the IDC data was a “psychological” blow to Samsung, but he expected the contest to remain tight this year.