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Although Samsung has been the world’s largest smartphone producer for the past fifteen years, the shipment gap between the South Korean giant and its biggest rival, Apple, has decreased significantly. While Apple`s quarterly shipments grow, Samsung`s are plunging, and the ten-year difference is quite shocking.
RELATED: Samsung crushes Apple with 730 million more smartphones shipped in a decade
According to data presented by Stocklytics.com, Samsung now ships 36 million fewer smartphones per quarter than it did ten years ago.
Shipments Hit a Ten-Year Low
Over the past ten years, Samsung shipped a staggering 3.1 billion smartphones worldwide, 730 million more than Apple. While still far ahead of its biggest rival, Samsung’s smartphone sales have been on a downward trajectory, and there are several reasons for that.
Firstly, the South Korean tech giant shifted from budget models that once drove high sales volumes to high-end models like the Z series and Galaxy S. At the same time, Chinese competitors Xiaomi, Oppo, and Vivo have gained ground, increasing their market share in regions where Samsung usually led with affordable devices.
This perfect storm of negative events has led to a sharp decline in Samsung’s quarterly smartphone shipments. Between 2014 and 2019, the company shipped between 75 million and 88.5 million smartphones per quarter. Although 2019 brought a steep decline, with shipments falling to 54.2 million by mid-year, this number recovered over the next six months.
Start of a long-term negative trend
By Q3 2020, Samsung shipments jumped back to 80.4 million, one of the highest quarterly figures in the past decade. But 2021 brought another decline, with shipments falling by 11.5 million to 69 million in Q3. Unfortunately, that was just the start of a long-term negative trend.
Statistics show that 2022 saw a massive 10.8 million decline, causing Samsung’s quarterly shipments to drop to 58.2 million in the last three months of the year. Although the declines in 2023 and 2024 were less severe, quarterly shipments still plunged by 5.2 million and 1.3 million year-over-year, respectively. In Q4 2024, the tech giant reported 51.7 million shipments, 36.8 million less than ten years ago, and the lowest quarterly figure over the past decade.
While Samsung Falls, Apple Keeps Gaining Ground
While Samsung grapples with a significant sales decline, its biggest rival, Apple, has seen just the opposite trend. Thanks to its strong brand loyalty, seamless ecosystem, and longer upgrade cycles, Apple has continued to grow its customer base, fuelling steady growth. In Q4 2024, Apple shipped 76.9 million iPhones, 14% less than its record-breaking 90.1 million shipments in Q4 2020, but still 2.4 million more than in the same period ten years ago.
Also, according to Statcounter data, Apple held 27.7% of the global smartphone market in February, or 4% more than in the same month a decade ago. On the other hand, Samsung`s market share dropped by 7% in this period, landing at 23.5% last month.
The full story and statistics can be found here: https://stocklytics.com/content/samsung-ships-36-million-fewer-smartphones-per-quarter-than-ten-years-ago/
