Limited adoption of Apple Intelligence cost Apple market share last year

Analysts are beginning to sum up the results of the past year, including today representatives of Counterpoint Research, who determined the dynamics of smartphone shipments among the five largest manufacturers. In a growing market, Apple reduced sales by 2% and lost one percentage point to competitors, and Samsung, although it lost some positions, was able to increase supplies by 1%.

Image Source: Apple

At the same time, it is Samsung Electronics that continues to be considered the largest supplier of smartphones in the world, controlling 19% of the market compared to 20% the year before. If in 2022 Samsung occupied 21% of the market, then Apple at the end of 2024 simply returned to the 2022 level, retaining 18% of the market. In 2023, the Cupertino company managed to control 19% of the smartphone market. Despite strong growth in iPhone shipments in some markets such as Latin America and Africa, overall 2024 was not a particularly good year for Apple, as the debut of the iPhone 16 was accompanied by uneven adoption of the Apple Intelligence suite of artificial intelligence features. It never became available to Chinese buyers last year, although the local smartphone market remains the world’s largest.

Overall, the global smartphone market grew 4% last year, a major improvement after two consecutive years of decline. The year before last for the smartphone market was generally the worst in a decade. Among the top five, shipments of Xiaomi products grew best, increasing by 12%. The company ranks third in the world with a share of 14%. Oppo and Vivo each control 8% of the global smartphone market, but while the former’s sales at the end of the year decreased by 8%, the latter’s sales increased by 9%. All other smartphone manufacturers together control no more than a third of the global market, but two years ago their share did not exceed 30%. Smartphone sales grew the most last year in Europe, China and Latin America.

Image source: Counterpoint Research

Counterpoint Research predicts that by 2028, nine out of ten smartphones in the $250+ price segment will support generative AI capabilities. In the foreseeable future, the smartphone market will not grow much in volume terms, but the trend towards “premiumization” will contribute to an increase in revenue for market participants. At least in 2024, sales grew most strongly in the segment of smartphones costing more than $1,000. Often, buyers were able to spend more on a new smartphone thanks to subsidies and preferential lending programs in the markets of certain regions. This year, according to analysts, revenue from smartphone sales will grow by 8%, while in physical terms sales will increase only by 4%.