Apple's iPhone market share has increased to 55% in Q2 2023 due to the significant fall in shipments of android smartphones, as well as carrier promotions.
Counterpoint Research reported the smartphone market was declining as a whole due to a 24% decline in smartphone shipments year-on-year (YoY), with major Android brands like Samsung taking the biggest hit.
According to the data, Alcatel was the worst hit among all Android brands, taking a 69% YoY fall, with Samsung (37%) and Motorola (17%) far behind. Google was the only winner among the Android brands thanks to the launch of its Pixel Fold smartphone, a direct competitor to the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold.
"Consumer demand for smartphones was tepid in Q2 2023, with the summer slump in sales coming early," Counterpoint Research analyst Matthew Orf said. "Despite inflation numbers falling through the quarter and ongoing strength in the job market, consumers hesitated to upgrade their devices amid market uncertainty."
Even Apple Took a Fall
Market stagnation also affected Apple, as iPhone shipments fell 6% YoY, but it was a smaller fall compared to its Android competitors.
This setback allowed Apple to increase its US market share by a full 10 points from 45% in the same period in 2022, even if it was a modest rise compared to its Q1 2023 share of 52%.
"Apple's resilience was driven by strong promotions across postpaid and prepaid," Counterpoint associate research director Hanish Bhatia added. "Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile continued to offer $800+ promo credits for the iPhone 14 while old-generation iPhones were also steeply discounted across prepaid. We are seeing no weakness in the overall promotional activity."
iPhone was not the only brand making promotions, as Google Pixel Fold was heavily promoted as well, with the Counterpoint report saying it was "heavily subsidized in prepaid channels."
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