Samsung Electronics and Apple recorded a decline in market share last yr attributable to the onslaught of Chinese mobile phones. Apple decreased since it doesn’t have artificial intelligence (AI) function, and Samsung decreased despite the fact that it has AI.
IDC, a market research firm, announced on the thirteenth (local time) that Apple ranked first within the cell phone market in global shipments with an 18.7% share. Second place is Samsung with 18%.
Chinese firms took third to fifth places. Xiaomi recorded 13.6%, Chinese company Transsion, which dominates the African and South Asian markets, recorded 8.6%, and Oppo recorded 8.5%. Even though it was omitted from the annual rankings, China’s Vivo tied for fourth place with an 8.2% market share, the identical as Transion’s, within the fourth quarter of 2024.
Among the many top five global firms, only two have seen a decline in market share in comparison with the previous yr: Apple and Samsung. Apple fell 0.9%, and Samsung fell 1.4%. However, Xiaomi and Transion achieved rapid growth of 15.4% and 12.7%, respectively, in comparison with the previous yr.
IDC analyzed that the worldwide cell phone market has recovered strongly after a two-year recession. Specifically, it was revealed that Chinese firms have grown significantly within the low-cost device and domestic markets.
“We’re optimistic that growth will proceed in 2025, but the specter of increased tariffs from the brand new U.S. administration has created uncertainty across the industry,” said Nabila Forval, senior research director for devices at IDC.
Overall, the cell phone market grew last yr, but foldables were reported to be sluggish. Because of this, evaluation suggests that there will likely be more intense competition for AI deployment in 2025.
“Despite increased promotion and marketing, demand for foldables has decreased out there,” said Anthony Scalar, head of client device research. “Because of generative AI, the upper echelons of the market are abandoning foldable research and prioritizing AI advancement.” reported.
Specifically, attention is being paid as to whether AI will likely be the most important reason for increasing cell phone sales starting this yr. It is understood that almost all users are usually not yet serious about AI, but starting this yr, AI voice assistants and AI agents, that are considered killer features, will appear in earnest.
Reporter Lim Da-jun ydj@aitimes.com
