Smartphone market growth continues but Samsung slips

Equipment makers shipped 316.1 million smartphones worldwide in the three months to the end of September, preliminary data shared by IDC shows. That's an increase of 4% on the year-earlier quarter, marking the fifth consecutive quarter of growth after a series of weak quarters during the economic downturn, and well ahead of the 285.4 million smartphones shipped in Q2.

The headline figures suggest that it was a positive quarter for all the big name device makers except for Samsung. The South Korean vendor was the only one of the top five to experience negative year-on-year growth, while its Chinese rivals turned in strong performances and there was an uptick from Apple, which usually has a good Q3 and Q4 due to the timing of new iPhone launches.

But the figures do not tell the whole story. Samsung sold 1.7 million fewer smartphones during the quarter than it did in Q3 last year, causing its market share to contract by more than a percentage point to 18.3%. But sometimes it's about quality, not quantity.

"The company continues to grow its share in the premium segment as the average prices increased in the quarter driven by a stronger mix of Galaxy AI-enabled models," said Francisco Jeronimo, vice president for EMEA Client Devices. "The company started rolling out Galaxy AI features to other Samsung models and launched the new Galaxy Z Fold6 and Galaxy Z Flip6 foldables with Galaxy AI, which contributed to a better performance in the premium segment."

Speaking of premium smartphones, Apple solidified its position as the number two player in the market, its Q3 share coming in just a whisker behind Samsung at 17.7% on the back of 56 million device shipments; that's almost 2 million more than in Q3 last year.

Apple's market share actually fell year-on-year, but a tenth of a percentage point is little to get excited about.

IDC's analysts highlighted the launch of the new iPhone 16 line-up in September and strong demand for previous iPhone models as being key to its shipments growth.

"In Q3 2024, older iPhone models, specifically the iPhone 15, performed exceptionally well due to the heavy promotions and increased marketing activities around Apple Intelligence," said Nabila Popal, research director for Worldwide Client Devices.

And that AI technology will make a difference to Apple's going forward, the analyst firm predicts, with customers keen to upgrade from the iPhone 12 and 13, and earlier models, to a new AI-enabled device.

But while the top two often capture all the attention – Apple and Samsung together claimed well over a third of the global market in Q3 – it was their Chinese rivals that witnessed the strongest growth (see chart).

Of particular note is the smallest of the top 5 device makers, Vivo, whose smartphone shipments grew by a sizeable 22.8% on-year in Q3 to 27 million, giving it a market share of 8.5%. Its performance was fuelled by aggressive product launches, as well as the fact that its base was lower to start with, IDC explained.

At this stage the analyst firm is sharing preliminary data which could yet change. However, it's starting to look like the gloomy period of stagnant smartphone market growth is behind us and the only way is up... for now, at least.