Apple's Market Share Dips 2% in 2024 as Global Smartphone Market Rebounds [Report]
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Posted January 13, 2025 at 4:00pm by iClarified
Apple's market share declined by 2% year over year as the global smartphone market returned to growth in 2024 after two consecutive years of declines, according to a new report from Counterpoint Research. Global smartphone sales reportedly grew by 4% in 2024, driven by macroeconomic improvements and stronger consumer sentiment.
"2024 was a year of recovery and normalization after a difficult 2023," said Research Director Tarun Pathak. "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."
Samsung captured first place with 19% of the market in 2024. It experienced strong demand for its S24 series and A-series products, performing especially well in Western Europe and the USA. Counterpoint reports that Apple came in second place.
Apple, with an 18% share took the #2 spot. Apple's iPhone 16 series was met with a mixed response, partly due to a lack of availability of Apple Intelligence at launch. However, Apple continued to grow strongly in its non-core markets like Latin America, Africa and Asia-Pacific-Others.
Ivan Lam, Senior Analyst at Counterpoint Research, noted, "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."
Xiaomi ranked third with 14% of the market and impressive growth of 12%, followed by OPPO with 8% and a decline of 8%. Vivo rounded out the top five with 8% of the market and 9% growth.
Counterpoint notes that sales of ultra-premium smartphones (priced above $1,000) grew fastest in 2024, supported by device subsidies in developed markets and low-cost financing in emerging markets. By 2028, it expects 9 out of 10 smartphones priced above $250 to feature generative AI capabilities. For this year, it forecasts that revenue growth will continue to outpace volume growth, with revenues increasing 8% YoY compared to 4% volume growth.