Samsung massively outperformed Apple in Q1 2023, thanks to Galaxy S23

The state of the smartphone market was very poor in the first quarter of 2023, with every manufacturer witnessing a decline in sales except for Samsung, according to a new report from market intelligence firm TrendForce.

Buoyed by strong iPhone 14 sales, Apple became the top seller in the last quarter of 2022, though Samsung shipped the most units during the year. As was expected, Samsung outperformed Apple in Q1 2023, and that too by a wider margin than was predicted.

Samsung’s Q1 sales were boosted by the then-newly released Galaxy S23 series. The company sold 61.5 million units in the January quarter – an increase of 5.5 percent over the previous quarter.

Apple saw its sales tumble 27.5 percent to 53.3 million units from the year-ago quarter. The iPhone 14 family made up 78 percent of that number.

In line with the overall market trend, Oppo, Xiaomi, and Vivo all saw their sales slump in Q1 2023. Oppo and its subsidiaries Realme and OnePlus sold 26.8 million phones in Q1, a decline of 17 percent over Q1. 

Xiaomi, which also owns Redmi and Poco, shipped 26.5 million units, down 27.4 percent from the year-ago quarter. Combined sales of Vivo and sub-brand iQoo reached 20 million, a 14.2 percent quarter-on-quarter decrease. 

In all, this was the worst quarter since 2014 for smartphone shipments with total sales of 250 million units. Compared to last year, sales declined by 19.5 percent and this could be attributed to the gloomy global economic environment. In contrast, 301 million smartphones were shipped in Q4 2022.

The current quarter is expected to be a little better. Sales are expected to increase by around 5 percent QoQ to 260 million units. Apple and Samsung are unlikely to contribute to that increase, as both could see their sales decline. 

Demand for the Galaxy S23 series will likely soften this quarter and drag down sales by 10 percent. Apple could see an even greater decline of 20 percent.