Samsung and Apple to lead global smartphone shipments in Q2 2024: IDC

Global shipments of smartphones rose 6.5 percent in the second quarter, driven by Samsung Electronics and Apple, preliminary figures from IDC showed on Monday. However, a full recovery in demand has not yet begun, as demand in some markets remains difficult to recover.

Samsung ranked first with an 18.9 percent share of shipments in the second quarter, followed by Apple with a 15.8 percent share and Xiaomi with 14.8 percent.

Global shipments grew for the fourth straight quarter, the research firm said, as smartphone makers leverage artificial intelligence (AI) to entice budget-conscious consumers and capture more market share.

There is “a lot of excitement” in the smartphone market, thanks to higher average selling prices and hype around the AI-powered smartphone generation, which is expected to capture 19 percent of the market this year, according to Nabila Popal, research director for IDC’s Worldwide Tracker team.

“With Apple and Samsung both continuing to capture the top end of the market and benefiting the most from the ongoing premiumization trend, many leading Chinese OEMs are increasing shipments in the low-end segment in an attempt to capture volume share amid weak demand,” Popal said, adding that this is putting pressure on the share of mid-range devices.

Apple held its developer conference last month and unveiled new AI features for its iPhones, powered by OpenAI’s ChatGPT.

Samsung also held its Galaxy Unpacked event last week, where it announced new models of the Galaxy Fold and Flip, as well as new AI features.

© Thomson Reuters 2024