The global smartphone market has turned a corner in 2024. According to a recent Canalys report, the global smartphone market grew by 7% in 2024. The report claims that this resulted in more than 1.2 billion units shipped worldwide. While 7% may not seem like a staggering figure, this represents a rebound after the two previous years of where we saw the market decline.
Who are the winners?
Based on the figures by Canalys, both Apple and Samsung continue to dominate the market. Each company holds 18% of the market share in 2024. However, this is actually a slight decline from their 20% shares back in 2023. Apple had the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max to thank. Both models saw an 11% increase in shipments compared to their predecessors.
Samsung also has its Galaxy S24 series to thank. Canalys claims that the company delivered its “strongest S-series volume since 2019”. It also found that more users were leaning towards the Ultra models more than before. Other noteworthy companies include Xiaomi, which came in third place with a 14% market share. The company’s shipments grew by an impressive 15% in 2024.
However, we have to wonder if Apple and Samsung are the real winners here. The Canalys report actually splits up the BBK-owned companies into individual companies. For those unfamiliar, BBK is the parent company to smartphone brands such as Oppo, Realme, and Vivo.
When combined, these brands account for a staggering 20% of the global market. This makes BBK the true leader if we’re talking about collective market share.
Unfortunately, Huawei is struggling to make a comeback. The company was once poised to become the global smartphone leader. However, the 2024 figures reveal that Huawei only commands a meager 4% of the global smartphone market share.
The future of the smartphone market
The increase of 7% growth in the global smartphone market is good news, at least for now. However, the future remains uncertain. The ongoing trade war between the US and China doesn’t look like it is going to be resolved soon. Both countries have imposed tariffs on foreign imports.
This means that things could get more expensive to manufacture in the future. In turn, we expect these companies will pass the costs down to consumers, resulting in more expensive smartphones. As a result, customers may be less inclined to upgrade as frequently as before, which could negatively impact the market.
That being said, innovative features such as AI could help drive growth. As it stands, AI on smartphones still leaves a lot to be desired. However, given the rapid pace of AI development, it is exciting to see what these companies can come up with.
