iPhone rising as phone market dips

Consumers choose premium models as demand for cheap phones slumps

- ALEX SUMMERSBY

GLOBAL SMARTPHONE SHIPMENTS are forecast to hit their lowest level since 2013, but the iPhone range are bucking the trend. By shipments, the four top models are iPhones and, as sales of high-volume/low-price models slump, Apple is now on track to become the top brand by unit sales for the first time. It has long been #1 by revenue.

IDC forecasts that worldwide smartphone shipments in 2023 will decline 4.7% year over year to 1.15bn units, the lowest total in a decade. Counterpoint Research projects the same total but reckons this to be a 6% decline. (Both are analyzing shipments from manufacturers to retailers rather than sales, but there's an obvious correlation, and Apple and other manufacturers do not release unit sales figures.)

GOING PREMIUM