Samsung returns to top, to up ante against troubled Apple

Samsung Electronics Co. snatched the crown from its archrival Apple Inc. as the top global smartphone seller last month thanks to brisk sales of its new AI-powered smartphone. And as Apple grapples with legal challenges, it's aiming for an even stronger grip on the top.

South Korea’s smartphone giant sold 19.69 million units of smartphones around the world in February, accounting for 20% of the global smartphone market, according to market research firm Counterpoint and Hana Securities Co. on Sunday.

It beat Apple, which had an 18% global share and shipments of 17.41 million iPhone units.

Samsung regained ground against Apple for the first time since yielding the top spot to its US rival in October.

The Korean smartphone giant also retained its top position in Europe in February with a 34% share, and performed better than expected in the US, Apple’s home turf, with a share of 36%, up 16 percentage points from the previous month.  

During the same month, Apple’s market share at home fell from 64% to 48%.

The Korean phone maker’s triumphant return was attributed largely to its new flagship premium Galaxy S24 series phone, which debuted in mid-January with the industry’s first on-device AI features.

SAMSUNG’S ON-DEVICE AI FEATURES

As of the end of February, global shipments of the Galaxy S24 series totaled 6.53 million units.

Its shipments fell short of its predecessor Galaxy S23’s end-February total sales by 10% but given that the new smartphone series was released about 10 days later than the old series’ debut date, the newcomer’s sales figures have beaten expectations.

Samsung’s jump in smartphone sales in the US, a fierce battleground for premium phones, was also largely driven by the launch of the Galaxy S24 series.  
In February, the Galaxy S24 series made up 52% of its US smartphone sales.

Industry observers said the new phone’s premium on-device AI features have succeeded in luring some American phone users away from iPhones.

With the world’s first AI phone, users can access real-time translation of their phone conversations in 13 languages without using a third-party app; autonomous summarization and translation of long documents and foreign text; and the Circle to Search function, which enables users to find real-time information about a product or a person appearing onscreen by drawing a circle around their image.

On-device AI is a type of technology that provides AI features without an internet connection. 

BEST PREMIUM PHONE, BEST PHONE CAMERA

The Galaxy S24 Ultra, the largest and highest-end version of the series, topped the list of Best Phone Cameras issued by Consumer Reports, according to the information technology industry on Sunday.

The Korean premium phone scored 87 points, followed by runner-up iPhone Max Pro with a score of 86 and the third Galaxy S24+ with 85.

The respected US nonprofit consumer organization, which rates and reviews a wide range of products, also named the Galaxy S24 Ultra as the best premium phone overall earlier this month, citing its premium AI features.

With Samsung phones' improved image following the new AI premium phone’s launch, sales of its premium foldable phone series such as the Galaxy Z Flip and Z Fold have also gained momentum.

As of the end of February, the newest Galaxy Z5 series sold 7.39 million units in the six months since its launch — 4.76 million units for the Flip and 2.63 million units for the Fold. Its predecessor the Z4 sold 7.34 million over the same period.

“Growing sales of the Galaxy S24 series in developed markets are an encouraging sign,” said an official at Samsung Electronics. “The steady expansion of the global foldable phone market is also hopeful.”

APPLE’S MISFORTUNE COULD BE AN OPPORTUNITY

Samsung Electronics will go all-out to further widen its gap against Apple in the global smartphone market as its US rival grapples with an antimonopoly lawsuit in the US.

Earlier this month, the U.S. Justice Department, 15 states and the District of Columbia  sued Apple, accusing it of monopolizing the smartphone market in a landmark antitrust lawsuit that could disrupt the tech giant’s lucrative business model.

Apple is alleged to maintain monopoly power by blocking so-called super apps with broad functionality that would make it easier for consumers to switch between competing smartphone platforms.

It is also accused of intentionally slowing video streaming from Android phones, diminishing the functionality of non-Apple smartwatches and discriminating against third-party digital wallets.

A smartphone industry official said Samsung Electronics would enjoy windfall gains if Apple is found guilty of those monopolistic practices, a big blow to the latter's reputation.

While Apple is busy defending itself in legal battles, Samsung Electronics plans to expand the application of AI features to other phones and release new premium foldable phones in the second half of this year to woo more consumers.

The Korean smartphone giant has already started adding AI features to the Galaxy S23 series and Galaxy Z5 series through software upgrades on Thursday.

It also plans to up the ante against Apple in the US by offering discounts on its premium phones.

In 2023, Samsung shipped 33 million smartphones to North America, falling short of No. 1 seller Apple's shipments of 55 million iPhones. In 2022, the difference in the two rivals’ shipments was 20.4 million units.

Write to Jeong-Soo Hwang at hjs@hankyung.com
Sookyung Seo edited this article.