The global smartphone market isn’t seeing happy numbers due to sluggish demand following the economic downturn and inflation reaching record highs in many countries.

Amidst this, a research report by market research firm TrendForce notes that Apple is all set to dethrone South Korean giant Samsung in terms of market share in Q4 2022.

According to TrendForce, the global smartphone market share in Q3 2022 stood at 289 million units. This is down by 0.9% from the previous quarter and 11% from the same quarter last year.

Apple will see tremendous growth, and its market share is expected to soar from 17.6% in Q3 2022 to 24.6% in the fourth quarter. This will help Apple overtake Samsung and become the leader in the global smartphone market in Q4 2022.

Samsung managed only a 3.9% increase in terms of shipments from the previous quarter, and the shipment numbers stood at 64.2 million units.

BusinessKorea notes that continued inventory pressure, low demand, and semiconductor shortage are going to further decrease shipments for Samsung in the fourth quarter and impact its position in the global smartphone market.

On the other hand, Apple shipped 50.8 million units in Q3 2022 and is showing a solid growth trend, thanks to the increased demand for the iPhone 14 series, the market share is expected to continue to grow in the fourth quarter. Chinese OEMs Xiaomi, OPPO, and Vivo, which are currently ranked 3rd to 5th, are all expected to lose market shares in Q4 2022.


TrendForce also predicts that Chinese smartphone makers will face significant difficulties in the future. This is all because of the shrinking demand for smartphones in China’s local market.

CompanyRanking (Q3-22)Market Share (Q3-22)Ranking (Q4-22) ExpectedMarket Share (Q4-22) Expected
Samsung122.2%220.2%
Apple217.6%124.6%
Xiaomi313.1%312.0%
Oppo411.6%410.4%
Vivo58.5%57.6%

Source: Trendforce