Samsung leads the global market in overall shipments of smartphones, but the gap between Samsung and second-largest supplier Apple is not as wide as it once was. A report by stock data and analysis company, Stocklytics, said that the two largest smartphone makers have come much closer in the number of units they’ve shipped over the past few years.
Worldwide sales of smartphones increased 6% from 2023 to 2024, reaching 1.23 billion total units. Samsung and Apple comprised approximately 40% of those sales. However, between 2014 and 2024 Apple’s iPhone shipments grew by 22%, while Samsung’s smartphone shipments shrunk by 33%.
Drawing on data from IDC, Counterpoint Research and Statista, the Stocklytics report shows that Apple shipped approximately 207 million iPhones in 2024. This marks a 22% increase from shipments of 169 million phones in 2014. Samsung shipped 280 million smartphones in 2024, a 33% decrease from shipments of 395 million phones in 2014.
The bottom-line difference for these top two smartphone giants: 115 million fewer Samsung phones shipped compared with 38 million more Apple iPhones shipped in the 10-year period ending in 2024.
“While Apple’s controlled product lineup and premium pricing strategy resulted in growth, Samsung’s broad approach led to challenges. The South Korean smartphone vendor shifted its focus 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 made significant strides, gaining market share in regions where Samsung traditionally led with affordable devices,” Jastra Kranjec, Stocklytics author, wrote in the report.
“On the other hand, Apple’s strong brand loyalty, longer upgrade cycles, and software support encouraged customers to stay with iPhones, fueling steady growth. The company’s growing presence in regions like India only further boosted sales,” Kranjec wrote.
The narrowest smartphone-shipment gap between Samsung and Apple occurred in 2022. That year Samsung shipped 260 million smartphones and Apple shipped 232 million iPhones, a difference of only 28 million units. In 2014, the gap between their shipments was 225 million units — with Samsung shipping 395 million phones and Apple shipping 169 million.
In addition to pricing strategy shifts and other factors, promotions can have a big impact on sales. A slew of promotions in the cellular device market in the third quarter of 2024 among competitive U.S. carriers was inspired by the launch of new flagship mobile devices from Apple, Samsung, and Google.
