Counterpoint: Apple will fall to third place in global smartphone brand market share ranking in August 2024

Apple and Samsung are in a fierce competition to become the number one smartphone brand in the world in terms of market share. Both companies are at the top of the sales charts, alternating the lead every year. Before the release of the iPhone 16, the resurgent Xiaomi took away Apple's second place in global smartphone sales, but this decline was only temporary.

Apple and Samsung are in a fierce competition to become the number one smartphone brand in the world in terms of market share. Both companies are at the top of the sales charts, alternating the lead every year. Before the release of the iPhone 16, the resurgent Xiaomi took away Apple's second place in global smartphone sales, but this decline was only temporary.

Apple slipped to third place, according to a report from Counterpoint Research. Chinese manufacturer Xiaomi grew enough in August, and Apple fell enough, that the two swapped places.

The note said Xiaomi's sales were flat month-on-month, but were enough to beat Apple's seasonal decline and rank third. This is not the first time Xiaomi has beaten Apple, the last time was in August 2021.

Seasonal sales caused Apple's market share to decline in August [Counterpoint Research]

Xiaomi's successful promotion-led growth in Latin America helped the company maintain sales and post positive growth for several consecutive quarters, but the report added that Apple's sales were also a factor.

Since new iPhones are traditionally launched in September, sales dry up in August as consumers wait for the latest models to be released. Counterpoint acknowledged that August is typically Apple's "weakest month in a given calendar year," with seasonality being the main factor affecting its hardware sales performance.

An August U.S. smartphone sales report showed that U.S. smartphone sales in August fell 4% year-on-year, with the share falling to 49%. Even so, Apple continued to maintain huge iPhone sales for the rest of the year, with the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Pro Max becoming the world's best-selling devices in the second quarter of 2024.

Given the sales growth that Apple usually enjoys in September and the following months, analysts believe that Apple will quickly retake the second place. Apple may also return to the first place again with the iPhone 16, thanks to its historic confrontation with Samsung.

From Chinese Industry Information Station