Samsung has long been the world’s largest smartphone manufacturer, but its grip on the market is slipping. Over the past decade, the South Korean giant’s smartphone shipments have declined by 36 million units per quarter, while Apple continues to gain ground.
Shipments hit a ten-year low
According to data from Stocklytics.com, Samsung has shipped a staggering 3.1 billion smartphones worldwide over the past ten years — 730 million more than Apple. But the numbers tell a different story when looking at recent trends. Samsung’s quarterly shipments have been on a downward spiral, hitting their lowest point in a decade.
A key reason behind this drop is Samsung’s shift from budget-friendly devices to premium models like the Galaxy S series and Z Fold lineup. While this move boosted profits, it also left a gap in the entry-level market, which Chinese brands like Xiaomi, Oppo, and Vivo quickly filled.
Between 2014 and 2019, Samsung regularly shipped between 75 million and 88.5 million smartphones per quarter. However, that number plunged to 54.2 million by mid-2019. A brief recovery saw shipments climb back to 80.4 million in Q3 2020, but the downward trend resumed in 2021, with quarterly figures slipping to 69 million.
By the end of 2022, Samsung’s shipments had fallen to 58.2 million units per quarter, marking a 10.8 million unit drop from the previous year. While the declines in 2023 and 2024 were less dramatic, they still reflected a troubling pattern. In Q4 2024, Samsung reported just 51.7 million shipments — down a staggering 36.8 million from its peak ten years ago.
Apple gains while Samsung stumbles
As Samsung struggles, Apple continues to thrive. The iPhone maker’s quarterly shipments hit 76.9 million in Q4 2024, down from its record-breaking 90.1 million in 2020 but still 2.4 million more than a decade ago. Apple’s growth is largely driven by its strong ecosystem, high customer retention, and longer upgrade cycles.
Market share data from Statcounter further highlights the shift. In February 2024, Apple held 27.7% of the global smartphone market—4% more than a decade ago. Meanwhile, Samsung’s share has shrunk by 7%, landing at just 23.5%.
While Samsung still leads in total smartphone shipments, the gap between the two giants is closing fast. Unless Samsung finds a way to recapture lost ground, Apple may soon take the top spot in global smartphone dominance.