Global smartphone shipments increased 7.8% year-on-year to 289.4 million units in Q1 2024, marking a third consecutive quarter of growth and indicating that recovery of handset sales is well underway.
Analyst company IDC Group VP of IDC's Worldwide Mobility and Consumer Device Trackers, Ryan Reith said optimism is “slowly” building up for the world’s largest brands.
Reith added Samsung replaced Apple as the world’s largest smartphone provider in shipments during the first quarter, and expected the two to continue battling in the top-end segment. He noted there had been a resurgence from Huawei in China and notable gains from other Chinese vendors Xiaomi, Transsion, OPPO/OnePlus, and Vivo.
However, Reith said: “As the recovery progresses, we're likely to see the top companies gain share as the smaller brands struggle for positioning."
Average selling prices increased as consumers are now opting for more expensive devices as the trend of longer upgrade cycles continues, noted IDC research director Nabila Popal.
The director added Xiaomi is “coming back strong” after two years of declines, while Transsion is establishing itself as a top five vendor.
IDC had Samsung listed as the top vendor in Q1 with 60.1 million units with 20.8% market share, Apple in second with 50.1 million units and 17.3% share.
Rounding off the top three was Xiaomi with 40.8 million units (14.1%), followed by Transsion’s 28.5 million units (9.9%) and Oppo which shipped 25.2 million (8.7%). Other vendors collectively shipped a total of 84.7 million devices (29.3%).
