According to a report by the International Data Corporation (IDC), global smartphone shipments increased 2.4 per cent year-over-year (YoY) to 331.7 million units in the fourth quarter of 2024 (Q4 2024).
This marks the sixth consecutive quarter of shipment growth, closing the whole year with 6.4 per cent growth and 1.24 billion shipments, marking a strong recovery after two challenging years of decline. We expect the market to continue growing in 2025, albeit at a slower pace, as refresh cycles continue growing and pent-up demand is fulfilled.
Commenting on the report, Nabila Popal, senior research director, Worldwide Client Devices, IDC, said, “The strong growth witnessed in 2024 proves the resilience of the smartphone market as it occurred despite lingering macro challenges, forex concerns in emerging markets, ongoing inflation, and lukewarm demand. Vendors successfully adjusted their strategies to drive growth by focusing on promotions, launching devices in multiple price segments, interest-free financing plans, and aggressive trade-ins—fueling premiumisation and boosting low-end devices—especially in China and emerging markets. While we remain optimistic about continued growth in 2025, the threat of new and increased tariffs from the new US administration has elevated uncertainty across the industry, driving some players to seek preventative measures to mitigate risks; however, thus far, the impact has been minimal.”
The report added that while Apple and Samsung maintained the top two positions in Q4 and for the year, both companies witnessed YoY declines, and their shares shrunk thanks to the super aggressive growth of Chinese vendors this year—who drove the overall market by focusing on low-end devices, rapid expansion and development in China. Outside of Apple and Samsung, Xiaomi came in third for the quarter and the year, with the highest YoY growth rate among the Top 5 players. Transsion placed fourth but tied with vivo for the quarter and with OPPO for the year as competition intensified between the three.
Meanwhile, Anthony Scarsella, research director, Client Devices, IDC, said, “Despite the continued growth across several regions, we have seen a decreased demand for foldables in the market, despite intensified promotions and marketing. Vendors have started shifting research and development (R&D) away from foldables as consumer interest remains flat. Moreover, numerous vendors are prioritising new artificial intelligence (AI) advancements at the expense of foldables as AI is increasingly featured on more devices, particularly at the market’s upper echelon thanks to generative AI (GenAI).”
