The global smartphone market has experienced its fair share of ups and downs over the past two years. After consistent declines in the first three quarters of 2023, the market rebounded in the fourth quarter and has shown steady, albeit modest, growth ever since. The trend continued in Q3 2024 as approximately 316.1 million smartphones shipped globally, with an increase of 4% YoY. On a quarterly basis, the shipment grew an impressive 10.8%, according to the latest data from IDC.
However, in contrast to the trend, Samsung emerged as the only company among the top five that witnessed a decline in smartphone shipments worldwide during the September quarter. The Korean giant has been struggling to attract customers for its smartphones, as the shipments have steadily fallen since the start of 2023 till Q3 2024. Even in Q2, the brand attained only a negligible 0.7% YoY growth in shipments.
Let’s dive deeper into the performance of the top five smartphone players in Q3 2024.
World’s Top 5 Smartphone Brands Q3 2024
- Samsung remained the global leader in the smartphone market in Q3 2024 despite declining shipments and market share. The company shipped 57.8 million units of smartphones during the third quarter, with a 2.8% YoY decline. Consequently, Samsung’s market share fell from 19.6% in Q3 2023 to 18.3% in Q3 2024. However, on a quarterly basis, the company recorded an appreciable 7.2% growth in shipments.
- Apple shipped 56 million iPhones in Q3 2024, showing 3.5% YoY and an impressive 23.9% QoQ growth. Despite this performance, the Cupertino giant experienced a slight decline in market share, dropping 0.1 percentage points from 17.8% in Q3 2023 to 17.7% in Q3 2024.
- Similarly, Xiaomi’s share in the global smartphone market declined 0.1 percentage point to 13.5% despite witnessing 3.3% YoY shipment growth during Q3 2024. The Chinese OEM shipped 42.8 million units worldwide.
- In Q3 2024, Oppo reclaimed its fourth spot from Vivo, which briefly took it in Q2. During the September quarter, Oppo shipped 28.8 million units of smartphones, achieving a 5.9% YoY growth and capturing a 9.1% market share.
- It was Vivo that emerged as the biggest attraction of the quarter. It recorded an impressive 22.8% YoY growth in smartphone shipments, totalling 27 million units in Q3 2024. As a result, Vivo’s market share rose from 7.2% to 8.5% in just one year.
Worldwide Smartphone Shipments: What’s Driving the Growth?
Strong performances from Chinese vendors like Vivo, OPPO, Xiaomi, Lenovo, and Huawei primarily drive the yearly growth in worldwide smartphone shipments. In particular, Vivo’s remarkable success can be attributed to aggressive product launches and a strategic focus on affordability.
Even though Samsung witnessed a drop in shipments, the company continues to expand its market share in the premium segment. The introduction of AI features in its high-end devices, such as the Galaxy Z Fold6 and Galaxy Z Flip6, has significantly enhanced performance in this segment, positioning Samsung as a formidable competitor in the premium smartphone market.
In contrast, Apple iPhone shipment growth in Q3 2024 was primarily fueled by strong demand for the older models, particularly the iPhone 15 lineup. This surge in demand came on the heels of the launch of the iPhone 16 lineup, which prompted a price drop for the iPhone 15 models, making it more appealing to consumers worldwide.
The exceptional performance of the iPhone 15 can also be attributed to extensive promotional efforts and heightened marketing activities surrounding Apple Intelligence.
As the holiday season (Oct-Dec) has always been the best quarter for Apple, the company anticipates many loyal iPhone users will upgrade from the iPhone 13, iPhone 12, and prior models to either iPhone 15 or 16 models.
The global smartphone market is undergoing a transformative phase as consumer preferences shift towards devices with advanced AI features. With rising demand for both premium and budget smartphones, it will be interesting to see which brand capitalizes on this trend and emerges as a leader.
