Global Smartphone Sales Rebound, But Apple AI Falls Short Of Sparking Upgrade Boom

The global smartphone market rebounded in 2024 after two consecutive years of declines. However, new data from Counterpoint Research shows that Apple lost market share to Chinese rivals. The over-hyped Apple Intelligence feature failed to spark a massive upgrade cycle some on Wall Street had forecasted. 

Preliminary data from Counterpoint Research’s Market Pulse showed that global smartphone sales increased 4% year-over-year in 2024 , following two years of mounting macroeconomic headwinds weighing on cash-strapped consumers. Smartphone sales in 2023 were at their lowest level in a decade. 

“2024 was a year of recovery and normalization after a difficult 2023. Smartphones continue to be an essential product, pivotal to people’s daily lives, and as macroeconomic pressures softened, the market started showing signs of recovery from Q4 2023 and has now grown for five consecutive quarters. Almost all markets showed growth, led by Europe, China, and Latin America,” Counterpoint’s Research Director Tarun Pathak wrote in a press release. 

Sell-through data reveals that Apple’s iPhone market share dropped to 18% in 2024, while Samsung also experienced a decline. In contrast, Chinese brands such as Xiaomi and Vivo gained market share. Apple’s sales declined by 2% on the year, while global smartphone sales increased by 4%.

“iPhone sell-through was down, but consumers are pivoting to Apple’s ultra-high end, helping to offset some of the declines. In markets like China, we’re seeing sell-through share of Pro series devices ballooning. To illustrate, Pro and Pro Max devices were at mid-forties share in China during Q4 2023, but in Q4 2024, we’re likely to see the final numbers tip well over the halfway mark,” Counterpoint’s Senior Analyst Ivan Lam stated. 

Counterpoint noted, “Xiaomi grew fastest among the top five brands in 2024, helped by its portfolio realignment, premium push and aggressive expansion activities,” adding, “OPPO came in fourth, with a YoY decline, but it ended the year with stronger momentum. vivo rounded off the top five, led by strong performance in India and China, where it ended the year as the top-ranked OEM. The top 5 remained the same as in 2023 but lost some share to aggressive competition from Huawei, HONOR and Motorola, the fastest-growing OEMs among all the top 10 brands.” 

Counterpoint’s data is nothing new for readers who have known for months about the muted launch of Apple Intelligence…

• Apple Slides After Guiding Below Consensus, Missing On Wearables, China And Service Revenues

• Foxconn Sales Growth Slows Amid Underwhelming AI-Enabled iPhone Upgrade Supercycle

• AI Fails To Spark Upgrade Supercycle For Apple

Last month, Goldman’s Allen Chang and Verena Jeng provided clients with insights into Apple’s big dilemma in China, the world’s largest handset market: How it plans to compete with Chinese brands offering low-cost, AI-equipped smartphones priced as low as $168.