IDC: The global smartphone shipments are expected to increase by 6.4% to reach 1.24 billion units in 2024.

According to the latest "Global Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker Report" released by the International Data Corporation (IDC), preliminary data shows that in the fourth quarter of 2024 (4Q24), global smartphone shipments increased by 2.4% year-on-year, reaching 331.7 million units, maintaining growth for the sixth consecutive quarter. The year-on-year growth for the whole of 2024 was 6.4%, with shipments reaching 1.24 billion units, signaling a strong recovery in the global smartphone market after two challenging years of decline. IDC predicts that the market will continue to grow in 2025, but due to the lengthening replacement cycle, the pent-up replacement demand from the past few years was gradually released in 2024, and the growth rate in 2025 will slow down. Nabila Popal, IDC's Senior Research Director for Global End Devices, stated that the strong growth in 2024 demonstrates the resilience of the smartphone market, despite challenges such as ongoing macroeconomic issues, forex concerns in emerging markets, continued inflation, and subdued demand. Manufacturers have successfully adjusted their strategies to promote growth by focusing on promotions, launching new products in multiple price ranges, offering interest-free installment plans, and actively pursuing trade-in schemes continuing to focus on high-end devices while increasing market share in low-end products, especially in China and some emerging markets. While we remain optimistic about continued growth in 2025, the threat of additional tariffs that the new U.S. government may impose has increased uncertainty for the entire industry, prompting some manufacturers to seek preventive measures to reduce risks. However, so far, the impact has been minimal. Although Apple Inc. (AAPL.US) and Samsung maintained their top two positions in the fourth quarter and for the whole year, both companies experienced year-on-year declines, and their market share also shrunk due to the strong growth of Chinese manufacturers this year. These Chinese manufacturers drove overall market growth by focusing on low-end devices and rapidly expanding and developing in China. Outside of Apple Inc. and Samsung, Xiaomi ranked third in both the quarter and the whole year, showing the highest year-on-year growth rate among the top five manufacturers. Transsion ranked fourth but tied with vivo in the quarter, and tied with OPPO for the whole year, intensifying competition between these three. Top five global smartphone manufacturers' performance in the fourth quarter of 2024: Francisco Jeronimo, Vice President of IDC EMEA End Devices, noted that Chinese smartphone manufacturers had notably impressive performance in the past quarter, including Xiaomi, OPPO, vivo, Honor, Huawei, Lenovo, realme, Transsion, TCL, and ZTE. They achieved a historic milestone as their total shipments in a single quarter reached an unprecedented high, accounting for 56% of global smartphone shipments in the fourth quarter. While their core market is still China and the entire Asia region, these brands are rapidly expanding their influence in Europe and Africa thanks to the strong performance of their low-end and mid-range products. Huawei stood out with most of its shipments concentrated in the high-end and ultra-high-end segments, highlighting its unique market positioning in China. Global top five smartphone manufacturers' performance in 2024: Anthony Scarsella, Director of Research for IDC End Devices, stated that despite continued growth in multiple regions, demand for foldable smartphones has declined despite increased promotions and marketing efforts. As consumer interest remains tepid, manufacturers are starting to shift R&D resources away from foldable smartphones. Additionally, as AI features increasingly appear on more devices, especially with the emergence of GenAI, many manufacturers are prioritizing the development of the new generation AI features at the expense of foldable smartphones.