Apple Inc. AAPL is within striking distance of a feat it has not achieved yet – the world's top smartphone maker. The upcoming iPhone 15 series could make its job easier, even as smartphone shipments are slowing down.
What Happened: Market research first Counterpoint has revealed that Apple is a few days of sales away from becoming the world's top smartphone company.
See Also: iPhone 15 Could Charge Up To 30% Faster, Thanks To The USB-C Port
"It's the closest Apple's been to the top spot. We're talking about a spread that's literally a few days' worth of sales," said Jeff Fieldhack, Research Director for North America.
This is despite an expected slowdown in iPhone demand – Apple's lens supplier Sony isn't very excited about iPhone 15 demand, citing a slower-than-expected recovery in the Chinese market and worsening conditions in the US. These two markets are amongst Apple's biggest, which could pose a risk to Apple reaching the top spot.
However, the analysts at Counterpoint are more optimistic about Apple's changes, saying that barring production issues, the company's chances look the brightest amongst the key smartphone makers.
New Era For Apple? The weak macroeconomic conditions worldwide could make 2023 amongst the worst for the global smartphone industry. However, for Apple, this could be a new era.
"2023 could mark the start of a new era for Apple as a resilient premium market and strong showing in the US could help it become number one globally in terms of annual shipments for the first time ever," the firm said.
For context, iPhone sales in the US fell only 6% year-on-year in the June quarter, while the situation was over six times worse for other companies – Android makers saw a 38% decline in sales in the same period.
Will Apple become the world's top smartphone maker and dethrone Samsung? We should know in a few months' time.
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