In the first three months of 2024, the South Korean company had a market share of almost 21 percent with 60.1 million devices sold, according to the US industry service International Data Corporation (IDC).
Apple came in second with 17 percent market share and 50.1 million iPhones sold. Sales in the smartphone market increased for the third quarter in a row, according to IDC data.
There were declines in both
However, sales at Apple fell by 9.6 percent, and Samsung also sold almost one percent less. Chinese manufacturers in particular caught up: Xiaomi shipped 33 percent more devices and landed in third place with 40.8 million. Transsion even increased by 85 percent and secured fourth place with 28.5 million. “While Apple captured the top spot at the end of 2023, Samsung successfully asserted itself as the leading smartphone vendor in the first quarter,” said Ryan Reith of IDC. It can be assumed that the US and South Korean manufacturers will be able to maintain their position in the upper price segment, while Chinese competitors will catch up, especially in terms of sales figures.
Turning point last year
As reported, in 2023 there was a turning point in the market for the first time: At that time, Apple had replaced Samsung as the largest manufacturer following twelve years – calculated for the year as a whole.
Sales figures for the Austrian market are not explicitly shown. In Statcounter’s usage statistics, the two industry giants are also ahead: In March, 38.62 percent of devices came from Apple and 34.15 percent from Samsung.
The situation looks different if you look at developments on the Chinese market in isolation: There, the IDC figures show a resurgence of Huawei. The Chinese manufacturer became the largest smartphone brand in the world in 2019. Sanctions from the US hit Huawei hard and prevented the company from doing business with US companies. As a result, Huawei came under pressure in the mobile phone market and even had to sell its Honor sub-brand.
Now both Honor and Huawei are at the top of the market in China. Both have a market share of around 17 percent each. Behind them are Oppo, Apple and Vivo (also from China) with around 14 to 15 percent each.
The IDC experts see growth potential for the smartphone market in artificial intelligence: by 2027, half of all smartphones in China are expected to contain AI technologies to improve and accelerate the interaction between humans and machines.
