Omdia: iPhone 15 ProMax was the smartphone with the largest global shipment volume in the first half of the year, with a total shipment volume of 21.8 million units.

According to Omdia's "Smartphone Model Market Tracking Report-Q2 2024," iPhone 15 ProMax was the top-selling smartphone in the first half of 2024, with a total shipment of 21.8 million units. This is the second consecutive year that the iPhone ProMax series has been the best-selling smartphone, after iPhone 14 ProMax became the best-selling phone of 2023. Even during a period of high inflation, the popularity of the most expensive iPhone continues to rise. Despite expectations that inflation would reduce consumer wages and limit spending, the opposite is happening, with more and more people choosing high-end iPhone ProMax models priced between $1,199 and $1,599 and possibly planning to keep them for a long time. So far, the shipment volume of the standard iPhone 15 is second only to the 15 ProMax, ranking second in the most popular phones of 2024 with 17.8 million units, while the iPhone 15 Pro ranks fourth with 16.9 million units. However, the iPhone 15 Plus is a less popular model in the series, with only 3.7 million units shipped, ranking 28th globally. With the latest iPhone models set to be released on September 20th, this trend is expected to continue, with the iPhone 16 ProMax likely to become the most popular model. Although the standard 16 and 16 Plus models have significant upgrades compared to their predecessors, this trend is expected to continue. Both models will use the latest A18 chipset - skipping the A17 chipset used before - enabling them to power the upcoming "Apple Intelligence" artificial intelligence features. The third-ranked phone is the Samsung Galaxy A15, with a shipment volume of 17.3 million units in the first half of 2024. Priced at $129, this 4G phone is the most popular low-end smartphone so far, with an increase compared to the Galaxy A14, which shipped 12.4 million units in the first half of 2023. The high inflation mentioned earlier has led some mid-range smartphone buyers to turn to the ultra-low-end and low-end markets (under $150), driving demand for the A15. Meanwhile, the 5G version of this phone, the Samsung Galaxy A15 5G priced at $199, ranks seventh with 12.2 million units sold. The new Samsung S24 Ultra, released on January 31st, ranks fifth among the most popular smartphones with 12.6 million units sold. This exceeds its predecessor, the Galaxy S23 Ultra, which had a shipment volume of 9.6 million units in the first half of 2023. The success of the latest S24 series may be due to Samsung's introduction of Galaxy AI features for the first time, which may attract previous S series users to upgrade. The three-year-old iPhone 13 ranks sixth with a shipment volume of 12.5 million units, outselling the ninth-ranked iPhone 14 by 1.4 million units. Priced around $599, the iPhone 13 may serve as a new entry point into the Apple ecosystem for many mid-range smartphone users. This position was previously filled by the iPhone 11, which, despite being released in 2019, still remains in the top ten global phones. Finally, the eighth and tenth rankings are held by the ultra-low-end smartphones Xiaomi (01810) 13C and Samsung Galaxy A05, priced around $80 each. These two phones are very similar: both are 4G, have the same screen resolution, are entry-level with 4GB RAM, and have rear cameras of 50 million pixels and 2 million pixels, respectively, with a battery capacity of 5000mAh. Omdia predicts that while there is a significant increase in shipments in the first half of 2024, there will be a decline in the second half of the year. Jusy Hong, Senior Research Manager at Omdia, said, "For over a year, shipments of low-end smartphones have been increasing, but with the demand suppressed by the pandemic being met and continued economic uncertainty, the growth rate is expected to slow. In addition, the mid-range market ranging from $151-600 is not showing growth momentum. The rise of refurbished (renewed and second-hand) devices has limited the growth of new demand. The extended replacement cycle for smartphones and the stagnation of demand in advanced markets further affect the mid-range market. However, due to a stable replacement cycle and new demand in emerging markets, the high-end market (above $600) is expected to grow. Introducing on-device generative AI features in iPhones and other high-end devices will also stimulate replacement demand. However, this alone is not enough to drive high-speed growth in overall shipments."