2024-02-28 07:00:00
Thunderclap in the ultra-competitive world of smartphone manufacturers. If it has long been the champion of margins on iPhones sold at high prices, Apple also became last year, once morest all expectations, the leading seller of smartphones in the world with 20.1% market share in volume, according to the IDC firm, ahead of Samsung (19.4%). A historic first for the brand founded by Steve Jobs. It has been thirteen years since the South Korean rival held first place. Only the Chinese Huawei threatened it for a time, in 2020, before revising its ambitions downward following American sanctions.
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Despite a global market declining for the third consecutive year, by 3.2%, to 1.17 billion units, the lowest in a decade, Apple managed to grow by 3.7% in 2023. A performance that garners praise from analysts, such as Nabila Popal, research director at IDC: “Apple is the only player in the Top-3 to show positive annual growth. Its continued success and resilience is largely due to the growing trend toward premium devices, which now account for more than 20% of the market. »
Number 1 in China
For several years, consumers have in fact opted for greater reliability and solidity, choosing to keep their smartphone for longer – between two and four years, according to various studies. For its part, the former world number one Samsung has also adapted, by moving upmarket. “The drop in demand at the entry and mid-range directly penalized Samsung,” notes Thomas Husson, analyst for Forrester. He chose not to fight once morest aggressively priced Chinese competitors. »
If Apple managed to take first place, it is not so much thanks to Western countries, where it is consolidating its presence. Paradoxically, it is especially in China that the group stands out, even though its position there is increasingly delicate.
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According to the IDC firm, Apple is number one for the first time in the Middle Kingdom with 17.3% market share by volume last year, ahead of local competitor Honor at 16.8%. A major performance, even though Huawei is working hard to play on the patriotic fiber of local consumers: to return to the forefront, it is banking on its high-end smartphone completely made in Chinathe Mate 60 Pro.
This feat also caused Apple’s market share to fall by 2% in the country in the last quarter. All while The Wall Street Journal last September echoed bans on Chinese officials using Apple brand products.
A generational growth driver
To resist the geopolitical vagaries of Sino-American tensions, Apple is also starting to benefit from its diversification towards India. According to the research firm Canalys, Tim Cook’s company exceeded 10 million iPhones sold in the country last year for the first time. A brilliant coup achieved thanks to the latest iPhone 15, stamped made in India. It constitutes half of iPhone sales in the country. And the market represents a significant reservoir of growth, since the fleet is made up of 95% of phones running Android. “It is the only manufacturer to build social status through the use of its products,” admires a competing manufacturer. Their growth will increase in India, especially as subcontractor Foxconn is building a very large factory for them in Hyderabad. »
Beyond its geographic expansion, Apple has also achieved the feat of creating a generational growth driver. According to a Counterpoint study carried out last year, people from Generation Z, born following 1996, swear by Apple more than ever. They represent 34% of iPhone owners in the United States, compared to only 10% for Samsung. In Europe, 83% of iPhone users under the age of 25 said they wanted to continue using the Apple brand, compared to half as many for competitors using Android.
Fluidity and simplicity
One of the keys to Apple’s appeal to those under 30 is probably its omnipresence on the refurbished market. This criterion is not yet taken into account by the main consulting firms which measure the market shares of manufacturers. And if it were, the Californian group’s lead would be even more comfortable in the face of competition.
Roger-David Lellouche, CEO of Reborn, one of the two main reconditioners in France, quickly does the math: “There are a little over 3 million reconditioned smartphones in France, of which 85 to 90% are iPhones. Young people are turning to this solution because it is the brand with the best image. » At the opposite end of the spectrum, among telecom operators, the refrain is the same. “There is more than ever a strong customer demand for iPhones, users do not leave the brand’s ecosystem,” confides a specialist from a large European operator. It is impossible for us to do without Apple. »
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By dint of seducing with its fluidity and simplicity, the brand has built a community of users which has ended up overtaking the main Android competitors. Without needing to add more for the moment on the benefits of generative AI in its products, or to launch foldable smartphones, Tim Cook’s firm has succeeded in fifteen years in building its success on the essential: a smartphone that the majority of consumers are proud to take out of their pocket, feeling like they belong to a community of happy few. The magic of marketing has succeeded in transforming over time these privileged people into Mrs. and Mr. Everyman.
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