Summary

  • Samsung is facing fierce competition from Apple, but recent data shows that its flagship sales are rebounding, possibly thanks to new AI features.
  • Despite a 1% decrease in sales compared to last year, Samsung sold 17.44 million smartphones in January 2024, showing signs of recovery.
  • Interest in Samsung’s flagship models is helping the company keep pace with competitors, with 31.11 million Galaxy S23 devices sold in the past 12 months, up from 24.99 million Galaxy S22 units the year before.



Samsung has faced its fair share of competition in the phone market, primarily from the Silicon Valley giant, Apple. While the South Korean-based device manufacturer has made headway internationally with its phones, Apple is proving tough to overcome — particularly because of the iPhone, which is growing in popularity outside of the US. Recent data indicates that, in 2023, seven of Apple’s iPhone models took top spots on the list of best-selling phones around the globe. Samsung managed to make the top 10, but not until it snagged the eighth spot with its Galaxy A14 5G. Despite these disappointing numbers, more in-depth statistics suggest that the company can still take solace in its flagship sales.


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Samsung guru @Tech_Reve posted an update on X (formerly Twitter) with January 2024 sales statistics from Hana Securities, indicating that the company is still seeing success with its flagship phones. Specifically, it seems that Samsung’s new AI features are driving many of the sales — the company was able to sell 1.42 million S24 series phones upon their release at the end of January. Additionally, the company’s Flip and Fold phone lines are still going strong — about 6.83 million Z5 series devices have been sold over the past six months. This is on par with the 6.81 million Z4 Series devices that were sold during the same period of time.



Customers are still exhibiting interest in Samsung’s older flagship models as well, which could help it keep pace with competitors in the coming months. Over the past 12 months, the company sold 31.11 million Galaxy S23 devices — this notably surpasses the 24.99 million S22 units that were sold in the same time frame. Some customers might not be willing to shell out big bucks for a new flagship phone as soon as it launches, but price drops on older models inevitably drive interest. It’s this intrigue that seems to be keeping Samsung customers coming back for more, and it might be enough to help the company take a bite out of Apple.