Apple has surpassed Samsung in smartphone shipments for the first time in a year, as reported by IDC's Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker. Although IDC acknowledges that its data is preliminary Canalys, a research agency also supports Apple claiming the top spot in 2023.

According to IDC, Apple's total mobile shipments reached 234.6 million, outpacing Samsung's 226.6 million. Xiaomi, Oppo, and Transsion complete the top five with 145.9, 103.1, and 94.9 million smartphones shipped, respectively.

IDC highlights that Samsung's absence from the annual leaderboard's top spot hasn't occurred since 2010, marking a significant shift. At that time, Nokia led, followed by Samsung, LG Electronics, ZTE, and Research in Motion, the manufacturers of BlackBerry devices.

While Apple played a pivotal role in dethroning Samsung, it faced competition from other Android manufacturers such as Huawei, Honor, OnePlus, and Google. Canalys suggests that Huawei's "improving strength" could pose a challenge to Apple's growth in the Chinese market. Despite having US sanctions, Huawei has integrated an advanced 7nm processor from Chinese chipmaker SMIC which is capable of running 5G speeds into Huawei Mate 60 Pro smartphone, according to reports.