According to a report by Counterpoint Research, generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) smartphone shipments are projected to experience significant growth, with a notable acceleration expected from 2025 onwards. GenAI smartphones will account for over 54 per cent of total smartphone shipments by 2028, with an installed base exceeding 1 billion.
This democratisation of AI will be driven by an intimate ecosystem of collaboration and technological advancements, along with the countless resources invested by hardware brands and AI platforms, promising to put sophisticated AI capabilities into the hands of billions.
One of the key drivers of this democratisation is the increasing affordability of GenAI capabilities. Smartphones are the perfect carrier for experiencing AI functionalities. Mid-range models are now getting GenAI through software updates and hybrid deployments. We can expect more mid-range and even budget devices to offer GenAI-powered experiences in the future. This means users don’t necessarily need to purchase a flagship device to enjoy the features and conveniences of AI.
Currently, a wide range of GenAI use cases are emerging on both flagship and mid-range smartphones. This expanding accessibility ensures that a large portion of the market can experience the benefits of AI-powered innovations. Key players in the ecosystem, including android brands, SoC vendors, large language models (LLM) developers and the expanding AI software ecosystem, are working together to accelerate the integration of GenAI into smartphones.
The report added that the increasing penetration of 5G technology will play a crucial role in democratising AI. 5G’s high bandwidth and low latency enable seamless access to cloud-based AI resources, facilitating the adoption of hybrid GenAI mode, particularly in mid-range smartphones. By leveraging 5G’s robust and low-latency connectivity, Chinese brands are actively collaborating with Google and Meta on LLMs for their global users. They continuously introduce new AI features that create new usage habits, such as using interactive voice assistants for searches, information gathering, and generating images and text. The report predicts global 5G smartphone shipments will exceed 1 billion units in 2026 and surpass 85 per cent of overall smartphone shipments by 2028.
As 5G networks facilitate cloud-based AI, flagship smartphones are also witnessing a surge in on-device AI computing power, with current SoCs boasting capabilities exceeding 40 TOPS (trillions of operations per second). This local processing power allows for faster and more efficient execution of AI tasks.
According to the report, it is expected that dedicated AI computing elements will become standard across all tiers of 5G SoCs, with the maximum AI computing power of flagship platforms projected to reach 70 TOPS by 2027. This continuous increase in processing power will unlock even more sophisticated AI capabilities on smartphones.
The convergence of powerful hardware, collaborative ecosystems, widespread 5G adoption, decreasing costs and hybrid mode is driving the rapid democratisation of AI in smartphones.
