Worldwide smartphone shipments reached 285.4 million units in the second quarter of 2024, according to newly released data.

It represents a 6.5 per cent increase year-over-year, according to research by the International Data Corporation (IDC) carried in its Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker report.

Samsung and Apple remain at the top of the table. Samsung captured the top position in Q2 2024 with an 18.9 per cent share of the market shipping 53.9 million devices, compared to Apple which accounted for 15.8 per cent of the total market with 45.2 million devices shipped.

Xiaomi came in third with a 14.8 per cent share, while vivo and Oppo tied for the fourth position with 9.1 per cent and 9 per cent share respectively (a tie is declared when the difference is 0.1 per cent or less).

“While recovery is well underway with the top five companies all making year-over-year gains, we are seeing increasing competition amongst the leaders and a polarisation of price bands. As Apple and Samsung both continue to push the top of the market and benefit the most from the ongoing premiumization trend, many leading Chinese OEMs are increasing shipments in the low end in an attempt to capture volume share amidst weak demand. As a result, the share of mid-range devices is challenged,” said Nabila Popal, research director with IDC’s Worldwide Tracker team.

IDC Smartphone Shipment

IDC noted that Xiaomi and vivo both saw double-digit growth with strong performances in emerging markets and China, while Oppo’s 1.8 per cent growth was due to a successful ongoing expansion outside China.

“Some OEMs took a less aggressive move in Q2 2024 amid the BOM costs pressure, which prompted the companies to refine the product specs or pricing to ensure profitability. Nevertheless, the second quarter is more like a prelude before more Gen AI smartphones are launched in the second half of the year, which will potentially be the next growth driver after 5G and foldables,” said Will Wong, senior research manager for Client Devices at IDC Asia/Pacific.

Popal reiterated the importance of Gen AI equipped smartphones in further driving the shipments of smartphones over the coming months. “There is lots of excitement in the smartphone market today thanks to higher average selling prices (ASPs) and the buzz created by Gen AI smartphones, which are expected to grow faster than any mobile innovation we have seen to date and forecast to capture 19 per cent of the market with 234 million shipments this year.”

Research from other firms has backed IDC’s optimism about the growth of demand for Gen AI devices. According to global researching firm Counterpoint Technology Market Research, the share of GenAI-equipped smartphone shipments to overall smartphone shipments will reach 11 per cent by 2024 and 43 per cent by 2027 to pass 550 million units in 2027, a nearly 4X growth. The number of phones installed with GenAI features is expected to cross 1 billion by 2027.