Smartphone Shipments Rebound with 7.1 Percent Growth in 2024

According to the Omdia preliminary report, global smartphone shipments reached 328 million units in 4Q24 marking a 2.8% increase. This growth extends the smartphone market’s streak to five consecutive quarters of year-on-year growth. For the full year 2024, total shipments climbed to 1,223.1 million units, a 7.1% increase from 1,141.9 million units in 2023 signaling a steady recovery for the industry.

Apple led global smartphone shipments in Q4, as is typical for the fourth quarter, following the launch of the new iPhone 16 series. The iPhone 16 lineup, released in the third quarter, drove shipments to 77.1 million. While the iPhone 16 series outperformed its predecessor in quarterly shipments, Apple's overall shipments still marked a decline from the previous year – down 1 million from 78.1 million in 4Q23. For the full year of 2024, Apple shipped 225.9 million units, down 1.4% from 229.1 million in 2023. Despite this fall, Apple remained the world’s largest smartphone OEM of the year, a position it first secured in 2023 after overtaking Samsung.

“Apple is facing difficulties in China. Despite the launch of the iPhone 16 series, overall shipments have declined. This is attributed to the increasing lifespan of iPhones, as the growing demand for refurbished and used iPhones is impacting shipments of standard and legacy models.” Said Jusy Hong, Senior Research Manager at Omdia.

Samsung recorded 51.9 million units in 4Q24, bringing its 2024 total to 222.9 million units, a 1.1% fall from 2023. Samsung is one of the few manufacturers to see overall shipment declines throughout 2024, except for 2Q24. This continuous decline is due to the slow-down of the mid-range smartphone market, as the A-series makes up most of the company’s shipments. Xiaomi has exceeded expectations throughout 2024, maintaining strong global growth with 168.6 million unit shipments, an increase of over 20 million smartphones (15.4%) compared to 2023. The company has also been actively expanding into overseas markets, particularly in Africa and Latin America.

Transsion Holding, whose brands include Infinix, iTel, and Tecno, saw shipments stabilize in 2024 following rapid expansion in 2023. While the company was unable to maintain its high growth, resulting in fluctuating year-on-year growth, Transsion has succeeded in achieving more sustainable growth. Combined shipments of all three brands total 106.7 million units in 2024, up 15.3% from 2023’s 92.6 million. Vivo experienced steady growth throughout 2024, finishing the year with a total of 100.9 million shipments. This is 12 million more (14.0%) than in 2023, when it recorded 88.5 million shipments.

“vivo has demonstrated remarkable resilience against the ongoing intense market competition in 2024. While other brands have focused on aggressive market expansion strategies, vivo opted to focus more strategically on specific markets. It continues to lead in both the China and India markets, which together account for more than 77% of vivo global shipments in 2024. Following the economic turmoil in India, vivo also reached a cooperative agreement with Dixon Technologies to establish a joint venture further strengthening vivo's leadership in the Indian market,” said Zaker Li, Omdia Principal Analyst for smartphones.

Oppo Group, which includes both the Oppo and OnePlus brands, faced challenges throughout most of 2024. Despite this, the company has experienced strong growth in the second half of the year. Oppo Group recorded a 2.8% overall growth in 2024, with a total of 103.6 million units, up from 100.7 million units in 2023. This growth was driven entirely by the Oppo brand, while the OnePlus brand saw a decline of more than 20% between 2023 and 2024. Honor, Lenovo, and Huawei all achieved double-digit growth, far outpacing the overall market growth rate. This growth was powered by Chinese OEMs' expansion into overseas markets, a recovery in demand for budget smartphones, and the resurgence of smartphone demand in China and India.

“Looking back on 2024, it’s clear that the smartphone industry has recovered from the shipment volume decline seen in 2023. With the global smartphone market reaching 1,223.1 million units in 2024, this represents a strong 7.1% annual growth rate, the highest since 2021, and is higher than the initial forecast of around 1,210 million. While it is unlikely that this growth will continue, 2025 shipments are expected to be in line with or slightly less than 2024, though should not drop back to the low point of 2023,” noted Hong.