In further bad news appear to be plaguing the American-tech giant Apple. In accordance to a recent report, the California-based company is said to have lost the top spot of smartphone manufacturers in the world. And this defeat comes at the hand of its old rival, Samsung.
Apple Slips, Samsung Surges
The Korean mobile manufacturer overtook Apple, as it (Samsung) currently holds 20.8 per cent of the smartphone market, compared to Apple's 17.3 per cent. In addition, the phone shipments conducted by Apple also dropped by a whopping 10 per cent, just in the first quarter of 2024. Most importantly its shipments to China also dropped by over 2 per cent, compared to 2023.
And unlike the market, where interestingly a similar shuffle came to pass, with Tesla clinching the top spot from BYD. Over here, in the EV business, for better context, the overall numbers of all major players, including Tesla and BYD slumped, with decreasing demand for EV cars.
The Korean mobile manufacturer overtook Apple, as it (Samsung) currently holds 20.8 per cent of the smartphone market |
Coming back to the smartphone world, the change looks even more grave for Apple, given the fact, that the global shipments has only seen a 7.8 per cent rise to 289.4 million units. With other manufacturers, especially from the Android end of the spectrum, more particularly from Chinese and other Asian players in the market.
Interestingly, it was just last year, in December, that Apple had regained top spot on the back of strong sale numbers.
The Android Agony
Apart from Samsung, its counterparts from China, including Huawei and Xiaomi have upped the ante and made it difficult for Apple to perform.
European Union handed Apple with a fine of USD 1 billion for exploiting the market |
This development does not come at a good time for the second largest company in the world (Microsoft being the first or the largest), as it was just weeks ago, that the US-government sued the corporation for trying to monopolize the market with its coveted iPhones.
Barely a week before that, that European Union handed Apple with a fine of USD 1 billion for exploiting the market with its very own music service application, Apple Music.
These developments also come at a time, when there is growing demand for greater scrutiny of these multi-billion tech-behemoths (Apple, Google and Meta), from western countries including the US and the EU constituents.
