The global smartphone market exhibited significant growth in the second quarter of 2024, with a notable increase in shipments and consumer sales. According to recent data from the International Data Corporation (IDC), global smartphone shipments rose by 6.5% year-over-year, signaling the fourth consecutive quarter of growth.
IDC reports global smartphone shipments reaching a total of 285.4 million units in Q2 2024. Counterpoint Research, another industry analyst, observed a 6% rise in consumer sales during the same period. This growth is attributed, in part, to aggressive promotional offers, particularly in China around the 618 shopping festival.
“While recovery is well under way with the top 5 companies all making year-over-year gains, we are seeing increasing competition amongst the leaders and a polarization of price bands. As Apple and Samsung both continue to push the top of the market and benefit the most from the ongoing premiumization trend, many leading Chinese OEMs are increasing shipments in the low end in an attempt to capture volume share amidst weak demand. As a result, the share of mid-range devices is challenged,” Nabila Popal, research director with IDC’s Worldwide Tracker team, commented on the matter. “Still, there is lots of excitement in the smartphone market today thanks to higher average selling prices (ASPs) and the buzz created by Gen AI smartphones, which are expected to grow faster than any mobile innovation we have seen to date and forecast to capture 19% of the market with 234 million shipments this year.”
Tech major Apple experienced stabilization in its iPhone shipments during the June quarter. IDC reported that Apple shipped 45.2 million iPhones in this period, marking a 1.5% increase from the same quarter last year and a market share of 15.8%. However, data from Counterpoint Research indicated a slight decline of 1% in end-user sales. Both research organizations noted that Apple lost some market share, largely due to intensified competition from Chinese manufacturers like Xiaomi Corp. and Huawei Technologies.
Samsung emerged as the market leader in Q2 2024, capturing 18.9% of the global smartphone shipment share. The firm also shipped a total of 53.9 million units during the second quarter of the year, marking an annual growth of 0.7%. It was followed by Apple. Xiaomi secured a strong third-place position with a 14.8% share, driven by their dominance in the entry-level smartphone segment and success in emerging markets. This comes at a time when China’s market dynamics significantly influenced global smartphone performance. Aggressive discount strategies during China’s 618 shopping festival boosted consumer purchases, particularly benefiting local brands. Thus, Xiaomi emerged as a major gainer, leveraging its entry-level handsets to expand its market share by 27.4%, alongside 42.3 million shipments during the same period.
Vivo and OPPO rounded out the top five, each holding approximately 9% of the market share. Notably, Xiaomi and Vivo experienced significant double-digit growth during the period. Vivo shipped a total of 25.9 million units during Q2 2024, while OPPO made 25.8 million shipments during the same period. Other vendors shipped a total of 92.1 million units, capturing the remaining market share of 32.3%. Looking ahead, the industry is buzzing with anticipation for the arrival of next-generation “Gen AI” smartphones. Analysts predict these devices to be the fastest-growing mobile innovation to date, potentially reaching 19% of the market share (approximately 234 million units) in 2024. The second half of the year is expected to be a defining period, with the launch of more Gen AI devices acting as a potential catalyst for further market growth, following the trends of 5G and foldable phones.
