The global smartphone industry has faced significant challenges in recent years, and 2024 is expected to continue this trend. After fluctuating demand, it is anticipated that the global appetite for new smartphones will decline once again this year, delaying the anticipated market recovery. Despite struggling to maintain the growth rates observed in 2021, the overall number of smartphone shipments has continued to rise, reaching impressive totals over the past decade.
Data from AltIndex.com reveals that global smartphone shipments have totaled 14 billion units over the past ten years.
The peak years for smartphone sales in the past decade were 2015, 2016, and 2017, with each year averaging around 1.4 billion shipments. However, the industry has faced setbacks due to component shortages, inventory issues, and extended replacement cycles, leading to a $15 billion decline in sales over three years. In 2024, global smartphone sales are projected to generate $486 billion in revenue, a decrease from the over $500 billion recorded in 2021, according to Statista. Despite these challenges, smartphone sales have still achieved impressive figures.
The IDC Worldwide Mobile Phone Tracker survey indicates that smartphone manufacturers have shipped more than 14 billion units globally since Q1 2014. Notably, 2015, 2016, and 2017 were the best years for smartphone sales in the past decade, with average shipments of 1.4 billion units. The market saw a downturn in subsequent years, with shipments falling to 1.28 billion during the initial year of the COVID-19 pandemic. Although there was a rebound in 2021, the decline persisted through 2022 and 2023, with a further 13% drop in shipments.
In the first half of 2024, IDC data shows a positive trend, with smartphone shipments rising nearly 40 million year-over-year to 574.8 million. However, demand remains challenging in many regions, and global shipment figures are still below the market peak.
Samsung has remained the leader in global smartphone sales, shipping 2.99 billion units over the past decade, surpassing Apple by 743 million units, which shipped 2.24 billion units during the same period. Despite being the top seller, Samsung’s market share has significantly decreased from 30.7% in Q1 2014 to 18.9% in Q2 2024. Meanwhile, Apple’s market share has remained stable at 15.8% in Q2 2024.
Chinese competitors have shown notable growth over the past ten years. Xiaomi has surpassed the one-billion mark in shipments, capturing a 14.8% market share in Q2 2024, up from a fraction of that a decade ago. Oppo and Vivo have also seen substantial growth, with 937 million and 528 million smartphones shipped, respectively.
For further details and statistics, visit: AltIndex.
