The global smartphone market grew 6% year-over-year in the first quarter of 2024 reaching 296.9 million units. The growth is mostly attributed to strong performance in key regions such as Europe, Middle East, and Africa (MEA), and Caribbean and Latin America (CALA).
Global smartphone revenue also grew 7% YoY, reaching its highest-ever so far for a first quarter, research and analysis firm Counterpoint said in a blog post.
The higher end segment of devices priced above $800 was the fastest growing, registering double-digit growth and accounting for 18% of smartphone shipments in Q1 2024, up by 2 percentage points compared to Q1 2023.
Apple led the smartphone market revenues with a 43% share, although its revenue declined by 11% YoY. Meanwhile, Samsung’s revenue grew 2% YoY, propelled by its increasing average selling price, while shipments remained flat.
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Tough competition in China, record low upgrades in the U.S. and a difficult compare from last year due to iPhone 14 Pro’s supply shifting to Q1 2023 all weighed on Apple’s performance. However, improved product mix with the iPhone 15 Pro performance compared to its predecessor and an increasing footprint in emerging markets helped Apple in arresting some of the decline, Research Director Jeff Fieldhack, Counterpoint said.
Samsung meanwhile captured the top spot and led the global smartphone shipments during the quarter driven by early refresh of the Galaxy-A-series and strong performance of its Galaxy S24 series. The Korean-smartphone maker reached its highest-ever average selling price during the quarter.
Among the top five OEMs Xiaomi witnessed the fastest growth due to its strong performance in its key markets. Revenue for the market beyond the top five OEMs also grew backed by increasing revenues from Huawei, Honor and Transsion brands.
The growth in shipments was fueled by strong momentum in emerging markets even as Europe, especially Central and Eastern Europe, grew the most compared to a difficult Q1 in 2023. Consumer demands in these markets also grew as inventory levels improved. The region witnessed strong shipments of TECNO, Xiaomi, and Honor. Meanwhile, the Chinese market also witnessed growth owing to strong sales and Huawei’s comeback.
The Indian market also witnessed growth thanks to exiting 2023 with healthy inventory levels, Senior analyst Prachir Singh at Counterpoint said.
Growth in the smartphone market is expected to be slow but steady in the near term. However, revenues are expected to grow faster as the ongoing premiumisation trend is likely to persist, especially with the rise in new form factors and capabilities such as foldables and addition of generative AI features. The share of generative AI’s share in overall smartphone shipments is also expected to reach 11% by 2024, Research Director Tarun Pathak said.
