Sales of Apple’s (AAPL) new iPhone 17 are outpacing rival Samsung (SSNLF) for the first time in 14 years, according to new market data.
Counterpoint Research says that Apple is set to ship more smartphones this year than Samsung, the first time it will have done so in more than a decade.
Apple is on pace to ship 243 million iPhone units this year versus 235 million shipments for Samsung, according to the latest data from Counterpoint Research.
Apple is likely to end up with a 19.4% share of the global smartphone market while Samsung’s share will be 18.7% at year’s end.
Shipments refer to the number of devices vendors send to retail channels and are an approximation for sales and measure of demand.
Apple’s success is being driven by its iPhone 17 that was launched in September of this year. Counterpoint Research says Apple is heading towards strong sales this holiday season.
Sales of the iPhone 17 series in the U.S. during the first four weeks of its release were 12% higher than the previous iPhone 16 series of devices.
In China, Apple’s second largest market after America, sales of the iPhone 17 during the same period were 18% higher than its predecessor.
Samsung is now facing competition from Apple at the high-end of the smartphone market while also fending off challenges in the low-to-mid tier end from Chinese companies.
Counterpoint Research forecasts that Apple will retain the top spot in the global smartphone market until at least 2029.
Apple’s market dominance will be helped by the launch early next year of a cheaper entry level iPhone 17e, as well as reports of a foldable smartphone from the U.S. technology giant.
AAPL stock has risen 14% this year and is currently trading near an all-time high on a split-adjusted basis of $280.38 U.S. per share.
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