According to preliminary data from the International Data Corporation (IDC) Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker, global smartphone shipments increased 7.8% year over year to 289.4 million units in the first quarter of 2024 (1Q24). While the industry is not completely out of the woods, as macroeconomic challenges remain in many markets, this marks the third consecutive quarter of shipment growth, a strong indicator that a recovery is well underway.
“As expected, smartphone recovery continues to move forward with market optimism slowly building among the top brands,” said Ryan Reith, group vice president with IDC’s Worldwide Mobility and Consumer Device Trackers, in a statement. “While Apple managed to capture the top spot at the end of 2023, Samsung successfully reasserted itself as the leading smartphone provider in the first quarter. While IDC expects these two companies to maintain their hold on the high end of the market, the resurgence of Huawei in China, as well as notable gains from Xiaomi, Transsion, OPPO/OnePlus, and vivo will likely have both OEMs looking for areas to expand and diversify. As the recovery progresses, we’re likely to see the top companies gain share as the smaller brands struggle for positioning.”
“The smartphone market is emerging from the turbulence of the last two years both stronger and changed,” said Nabila Popal, research director with IDC’s Worldwide Tracker team, in a statement. “Firstly, we continue to see growth in value and average selling prices (ASPs) as consumers opt for more expensive devices knowing they will hold onto their devices longer. Secondly, there is a shift in power among the Top 5 companies, which will likely continue as market players adjust their strategies in a post-recovery world. Xiaomi is coming back strong from the large declines experienced over the past two years and Transsion is becoming a stable presence in the Top 5 with aggressive growth in international markets. In contrast, while the Top 2 players both saw negative growth in the first quarter, it seems Samsung is in a stronger position overall than they were in recent quarters.”
Top 5 Companies, Worldwide Smartphone Shipments, Market Share, and Year-Over-Year Growth, Q1 2024
(Preliminary results, shipments in millions of units)
Notes:
• Data are preliminary and subject to change.
• Company shipments are branded device shipments and exclude OEM sales for all vendors.
• The “Company” represents the current parent company (or holding company) for all brands owned and operated as a subsidiary.
• Figures represent new shipments only and exclude refurbished units.
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MacDailyNews Take: Apple only sells premium smartphones, not glorified feature phones to pad shipment numbers like Samsung and the myriad other Android phone peddlers. That Apple held the top smartphone shipment position at all was an anomaly and a testament to iPhone’s strength.
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Folding iPhone please! I’d like a tablet that fits in my pocket that doubles as my phone Apple. Enough with squeezing every last dollar out of us for multiple devices that could be 1. There better be more to the iPhone 16 Pro Max than a 0.1″ larger screen and Google’s AI!
For the price of one Samsung Galaxy Fold, you can have an iPhone and an iPad or iPad mini. Two devices are better than one.
Wall Street and IDC have always been in the FUD business. They don’t make money unless there is turmoil. IDC numbers have been infamously wrong as they are only guessing.
Apple sells premium devices only, even the SE came with a top chip when it was launched. Meanwhile Same-song needs to sell the A55, 35, 25, 15, and even a bottom of the barrel total kerrr-rappy A05 model, all waaaay under $1000, just to “pad the numbers”. None of these also-ran models come with any form of AI built-in. Just a joke, really. Samsung does sell its flagship S and Flip/Fold series, but honestly… they’re not the majority of sales. The profit leader always remains APPLE.