Canalys: Global smartphone market to grow 3% in Q4 2024

According to the latest research from Canalys, the global smartphone market grew by 3% in the fourth quarter of 2024 to 330 million units, marking the fifth consecutive quarter of growth. The pace of growth has slowed significantly. Apple performed strongly in the traditional new product launch season and maintained its top position with a 23% market share. Samsung followed closely with a 16% market share, with its market share declining. Xiaomi maintained its third position with a 13% market share and was the only brand among the top three to achieve year-on-year growth, mainly due to its efforts in the domestic market and globalization. Thanks to the recovery of emerging markets in the Asia-Pacific region, Transsion and vivo ranked fourth and fifth respectively. In 2024, global smartphone shipments totaled 1.22 billion units, a year-on-year increase of 7%. Apple has been ahead of Samsung for two consecutive years.

Canalys analyst Le Xuan Chiew said: "Apple consolidated its global position in 2024 through growth in emerging markets such as India and Southeast Asia. Apple seized growth opportunities by expanding its channel coverage and influence in Asia Pacific and leveraging aggressive marketing and branding strategies. However, competition and long replacement cycles limited its growth momentum in some developed markets. Looking ahead to 2025, Apple is expected to achieve growth driven by product portfolio updates, hardware upgrades and wider adoption of Apple Intelligence."

Toby Zhu, senior analyst at Canalys, also said: "The prosperity of mass-market products is the key driving force for global smartphone growth in 2024. Despite rising supply chain costs since the beginning of 2024, Android brands such as Xiaomi, Transsion and vivo have achieved double-digit growth, supported by a wide channel network, competitive products and effective inventory management. At the same time, mid-range devices face demand pressure as consumers in emerging markets favor value-for-money products, while the average selling price in mature markets shows a higher trend."