Global Smartphone Sales Rebound, But Apple AI Falls Short Of Sparking Upgrade Boom
The global smartphone market rebounded in 2024 after two consecutive years of declines. However, new data from Counterpoint Research shows that Apple lost market share to Chinese rivals. The over-hyped Apple Intelligence feature failed to spark a massive upgrade cycle some on Wall Street had forecasted. Preliminary data from Counterpoint Research’s Market Pulse showed that global smartphone sales increased 4% year-over-year in 2024 , following two years of mounting macroeconomic headwinds weighing on cash-strapped consumers. Smartphone sales in 2023 were at their lowest level in a decade. “2024 was a year of recovery and normalization after a difficult 2023. Smartphones continue to be an essential product, pivotal to people’s daily lives, and as macroeconomic pressures softened, the market started showing signs of recovery from Q4 2023 and has now grown for five consecutive quarters. Almost all markets showed growth, led by Europe, China, and Latin America,” Counterpoint’s Research Director Tarun Pathak wrote in a press release. Sell-through data reveals that Apple’s iPhone market share dropped to 18% in 2024, while Samsung also experienced a decline. In contrast, Chinese brands such as Xiaomi and …