Generative AI (GenAI)-enabled smartphone shipments are expected to skyrocket over the next three years.
According to data by 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 Counterpoint Research Smartphone 360 Service, GenAI Smartphone Shipments and Insights Report forecasts the GenAI smartphone installed base to cross 1 billion by 2027.
GenAI smartphones are generally defined as mobile devices that leverage large-scale, pre-trained generative AI models to create original content or perform contextually-aware tasks.
Counterpoint adds that such devices are expected to have multimodal capabilities, allowing them to process text, image, voice and other inputs to generate a variety of output.
The research firm notes that it expects GenAI smartphones to hit an inflection point in 2025 as the devices permeate the broader price segments, especially the A$620-A$930 price tier. The sub-A$930 and the A$620-A$930 price bands will account for 9 out of every 10 GenAI smartphones sold in 2024.
Chipset companies such as MediaTek and Qualcomm have already taken the lead in embracing generative AI smartphones. Counterpoint predicts that Qualcomm will lead in the AI SoC space in 2024, capturing almost half of all GenAI smartphone shipments, followed by MediaTek with a 13 per cent share.
Research Director Tarun Pathak, said, “More than 10 OEMs have launched over 30 GenAI-capable smartphones so far. AI in smartphones has been a key talking point since the start of this year, especially after the successful debut of the Galaxy S24 series, where Samsung has gained a good mind share in marketing early AI use cases. We expect Samsung to lead GenAI smartphone OEM rankings in 2024. This is the second trend in the past couple of years where Samsung enjoyed an early-mover advantage; the first one being the success of its foldables. The AI advantage will provide Samsung momentum in the mid-to-premium smartphone segment as GenAI features get recognised more broadly in coming years.”
Here in Australia, the Galaxy S24 Ultra already retails at JB Hi-Fi, among others.
Pathak added, “Apart from Samsung, Apple’s anticipated entry in the space will further help the segment’s growth. Once Apple enters, we expect AI to immediately become a must-have feature in all mid-to-premium smartphone launches starting 2025.”
Currently, the use cases for AI in smartphones include enhanced imaging capabilities, translation features, improved app experiences, content recommendations, and creating more personalized content, among others. The use cases will evolve as the large language models (LLMs) and will continue to grow in both size and efficiency. Counterpoint believes that the integration of edge (mobile devices) and cloud will be the mainstream model for generative AI in smartphones, and OEMs with an equally strong play in software capabilities, along with strategic industry partnerships, are likely to stay ahead of the competition.
