IDC: Global smartphone shipments in the first quarter of this year reached nearly 290 million units, with Apple's shipments down 9.6% year-on-year

On April 15, market research firm IDC released a research report this morning, saying that global smartphone shipments in the first quarter of 2024 (1Q24) increased by 7.8% year-on-year to 289.4 million units. Although the smartphone industry has not completely escaped the difficulties and the market still faces macroeconomic challenges, this figure marks the third consecutive quarter of growth in smartphone shipments, which is a strong indicator that the recovery is well underway.

The top five companies in terms of global smartphone shipments, market share, and year-on-year growth rate for the quarter are summarized in the following table (shipping units are in millions):

Ryan Reith, vice president of IDC's Worldwide Mobile and Consumer Device Trackers, said the smartphone recovery continues to move forward and market optimism among top brands is slowly heating up, as expected.

Samsung regained its position as the leading smartphone vendor in the first quarter of this year, following Apple's capture of the top spot by the end of 2023. IDC expects the two companies to continue to lead the high-end market, but Huawei's recovery in the Chinese market, as well as the significant growth of Xiaomi, Transsion, OPPO/OnePlus and vivo, may cause Samsung and Apple to start looking for areas for expansion and diversification. "As the economy recovers, we are likely to see the top companies' share continue to expand, while smaller brands struggle for positioning."

IDC analyst Nabila Popal said the smartphone market is emerging from the turmoil of the past two years, becoming stronger and more dynamic. "First, we can continue to see growth in value and average selling price as consumers choose more expensive devices and know they can use them longer. Second, the strength of the top five companies is also changing. This change is likely to continue as market players adjust their strategies after the economic recovery."

The analyst said that Xiaomi is making a strong comeback from its sharp decline in the past two years, and Transsion has become a stable member of the top 5 through its active development in the international market. In contrast, although the top two companies both experienced negative growth in the first quarter, Samsung's overall situation seems to be stronger than in recent quarters.