The global shipment of phones dropped by 7.8 percent year on year to 289.4 million units in the first quarter of 2024 (1Q24). This decline caused Apple to lag behind, while Samsung led the market.
Apple has lost its leadership position in the smartphone market from Q3 2023, allowing Samsung to be the new leader of the pack in Q1 2024. According to a recent IDC analysis, Samsung's market share has increased despite a slight decline in shipments from Q1 2023.
The desire for high-end smartphones has contributed to a little increase in the total smartphone market, which has aided Apple and Samsung's development.
That being said, companies like Xiaomi, Transsion, and Oppo/OnePlus that are progressively becoming more well-known worldwide should cause concern for the big players in the IT industry. According to this IDC analysis, "the smartphone market is emerging from the turbulence of the last two years both stronger and changed."
The total shipment of phones in Q1 2024 was reported to be 289.4 million units, which is a 7.8 percent increase from 268.5 million units during the same period in 2023.
Samsung and Apple continue to switch places at the top, and while Samsung had a strong standing in Q1 2023, Apple managed to grab the spot thanks to the new iPhone 15 series launch in September 2023, allowing the company to lead the chart in Q4 2023.
It is likely that Samsung has benefited from the launch of the AI-powered Galaxy S24 models in January 2024, which has helped in climbing back to the top.
Apple will be hoping for another shift in the standings later this year when the iPhone 16 lineup comes out with AI tech from the company.
Apple’s continued focus on OS support allows people to prolong the use of older iPhones which wasn’t the case earlier. But the AI-powered iPhone 16 launch could be the catalyst that could excite and entice more people to buy and even switch to iPhones this year.
The business is also gradually making inroads into the Indian market, where it already assembles the newest iPhone 15 models domestically and anticipates doing the same with the iPhone 16 series.