The global smartphone market is recovering after two years of decline: who is among the leaders

27 January 10:56

In 2024, global smartphone sales grew by 4% year-on-year as consumer sentiment improved. In addition, smartphone sales in 2023 were the lowest in a decade. This is stated in a report by the global research company Market Pulse Counterpoint Research, Komersant ukrainskyi reports.

According to the company’s research director Tarun Pathak, 2024 was a year of recovery and normalization after a difficult 2023.

“Smartphones continue to be a staple product key to people’s daily lives, and as macroeconomic pressures eased, the market began to show signs of recovery in Q4 2023 and has now grown for five consecutive quarters. Almost all markets have shown growth,” the researcher said, commenting on market dynamics.

Top five leaders in the smartphone market

Last year, the South Korean company Samsung continued to lead the market due to the high demand for its S24 and A-series products. The S24 series, the first phone positioned as a device with artificial intelligence, outperformed its predecessors and was particularly well received in Western Europe and the United States.

The American corporation Apple took second place with a share of 18%. Apple’s iPhone 16 series was met with mixed reactions, partly due to the lack of Apple Intelligence at launch. Nevertheless, Apple continued to grow strongly in its non-core markets, such as Latin America, Africa, and Asia Pacific.

The next three positions in the ranking were occupied by Chinese companies.

Xiaomi grew the fastest among the top five brands last year, driven by a portfolio reorganization, a push into premium products, and active expansion.

OPPO was in fourth position with a decline compared to the same period last year, but ended the year with greater dynamics.

Another Chinese company, VIVO, rounds out the top five, thanks to strong performance in India and China, where it ended the year as the top original equipment manufacturer.

The Top 5 remained the same as in 2023, but lost some share due to aggressive competition from Huawei, HONOR, and Motorola, the fastest growing OEMs among all the top 10 brands.

Are revolutionary changes in the market possible?

In 2024, smartphones began to be equipped with potentially revolutionary GenAI technology, a new generation of intelligent systems capable of generating content – from texts and images to music and video – using complex algorithms and neural networks.

Although GenAI-enabled smartphones are still limited to the premium segment, Counterpoint Technology Market Research expects GenAI to become the norm for mid-range devices, and by 2028, nine out of ten smartphones costing more than $250 will support GenAI.

While smartphone sales are unlikely to reach the peak levels seen in the pre-COVID era anytime soon, premiumization means that revenues will continue to grow as average selling prices rise. Sales of ultra-premium smartphones priced above USD 1,000 grew the fastest last year as consumers considered spending more on their next smartphone. In 2025, revenue growth is expected to continue to outpace volume growth, with revenues growing by 8% compared to 4% volume growth.

But the Nokia brand is leaving the smartphone market

The Finnish company HMD Global, which develops and sells these smartphones, has already removed them from sale on its website. The reason is the inability to compete with industry giants Apple and Samsung.

At the same time, Nokia is not leaving the market entirely – it’s only about smartphones. The company will continue to work on new projects, including the installation of a cellular network in space. And there is still demand for Nokia’s famous push-button phones and they will continue to be sold.

Василевич Сергій
Editor