Apple lost its top phone maker spot to Samsung as iPhone shipments dropped, the global market intelligence International Data Corporation (IDC) says.

Apple's smartphone shipments dropped about 10 percent in the first quarter of 2024, hurt by intensifying competition by Android smartphone makers aiming for the top spot, data from research firm IDC showed on Sunday.

The iPhone-maker's steep sales decline comes after its strong performance in the December quarter when it overtook Samsung as the world's No.1 phone maker. It's back to the second spot, with 17.3 percent market share, as Chinese brands such as Huawei gain market share.

Xiaomi, one of China's top smartphone makers, occupied the third position with a market share of 14.1 percent during the first quarter.

South Korea's Samsung, which launched its latest flagship smartphone lineup – the Galaxy S24 series – at the beginning of the year, shipped more than 60 million phones during the period.

Global smartphone shipments rose 7.8 percent to 289.4 million units in the January-March period, with Samsung leading with a 20.8 percent market share.

Apple's drop

In the first quarter, Apple shipped 50.1 million iPhones, down from 55.4 million units it shipped same period last year, according to IDC.

Apple's smartphone shipments in China shrank 2.1 percent in the final quarter of 2023 from a year earlier.

The drop underscores the challenges facing the U.S. firm in its third biggest market.

The Cupertino, California-based company in June will hold its Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC), where it will highlight updates to the software powering iPhones, iPads, and other Apple devices.

Investors are closely watching for updates on artificial intelligence development at Apple, which has so far spoken little about incorporating the AI technology into its devices. The company earlier this year also lost the crown as the world's most valuable company to Microsoft.

(With input from Reuters)