Apple's Global Smartphone Share Slips as Chinese Rivals Surge

Apple's global smartphone market share declined to 18% in 2024, down from 19% the previous year, while Chinese manufacturers expanded their presence in the global market, according to new data from Counterpoint Research.

Apple Intelligence iPhone 16
The iPhone maker saw a 2% decline in year-over-year sales, despite the broader smartphone market seeing 4% growth, as Chinese brands like Xiaomi showed remarkable growth of 12% during the same period.

The absence of Apple Intelligence features, particularly in China, appears to have impacted iPhone 16 sales. "Apple's iPhone 16 series was met with a mixed response, partly due to a lack of availability of Apple Intelligence at launch," noted Counterpoint research director Tarun Pathak. Despite this setback, Apple maintained strong growth in emerging markets like Latin America.

While overall sales declined, Apple saw increased demand for its premium models. Counterpoint senior analyst Ivan Lam reported that consumers are increasingly choosing ultra-premium devices, with Pro and Pro Max models gaining significant traction in China. The share of these high-end models is expected to surpass 50% in the Chinese market for Q4 2024.

Samsung maintained its lead in the global smartphone market, buoyed by strong demand for its AI-equipped S24 series and A-series devices. Meanwhile, Chinese manufacturers Huawei, Honor, and Motorola emerged as the fastest-growing brands among the top 10 smartphone makers.

counterpoint research global smartphone sales 2024
Apple has been rolling out Apple Intelligence features since October via software updates, but there are indications that this is not pushing people to upgrade their devices. A report just last week from Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo suggested Apple Intelligence "appeal has significantly declined" compared to cloud-based services like ChatGPT.

Meanwhile, a December survey suggested that many iPhone users feel Apple Intelligence has added little or no value to their iPhone experience, but that could always change as Apple Intelligence matures. There are still Apple Intelligence features that have not been implemented, including major changes to Siri that are rumored to be coming in April.

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Top Rated Comments

WarmWinterHat Avatar
15 weeks ago

Look at what a monopoly Apple has. They have no competition at all. We need more regulations against Apple.
Monopolies are based on the country in which the laws are executed, not worldwide. No government gives a crap about global market share, not should they.
Score: 18 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Zest28 Avatar
15 weeks ago
Look at what a monopoly Apple has. They have no competition at all. We need more regulations against Apple.
Score: 17 Votes (Like | Disagree)
WarmWinterHat Avatar
15 weeks ago

iPhones are boring. It’s just a tool now. The smaller scrappier companies willing to take chances are going to garner more interest. It can’t always be about pleasing the stock holders.
Smartphones are boring, across the board; it's not limited to Apple.

It's mature tech and a saturated market. Buying a new phone today, from any company, is about as exciting as buying new tires. You're happy to have it, but don't care enough to talk about it or think about it after fact.
Score: 16 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Toutou Avatar
15 weeks ago

They’re ramping up planned obsolescence techniques like never before
Source?


My 2 year old phone isn’t just suffering from lag, stutter, unresponsiveness
Genuinely sorry to hear that, but if that's intentional, why haven't they hit my 13 Mini yet?


Just search and see how many people are encountering this.
I wasn't able to find anything like what you're saying.
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)
d5aqoëp Avatar
15 weeks ago
Things missing on Apple side which Androids do well

1. Missing access to file system. It's incredibly hard to move a file to/from an iOS device to a PC. Apple makes you jump through hoops for this simple thing
2. Still not allowing sideloading ipa files except EU. Let user take full responsibility for it but have some safeguards in place like Android.
3. No foldable phones
4. Better screens comparable to top Androids like S24 Ultra
5. Still stuck on 60hz refresh rate on basic iPhones.
6. No HD-Audio/ATMOS support in iOS/TVOS yet. No passthrough
7. Still limiting USB-C speed and power on iPhones so majority of external SSDs are incompatible.
8. Poor Cellular and Wifi performance compared to top Androids.
9. Stale 5 yr old designs for most of their devices compared to Chinese Androids.
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
seek3r Avatar
15 weeks ago

And how are Apple responding? They’re ramping up planned obsolescence techniques like never before to ‘force’ users to ungrade.

My 2 year old phone isn’t just suffering from lag, stutter, unresponsiveness - it’s clearly limited to 1 charge cycle per day. Going over that and it simply won’t charge, and if you keep using it the battery level declines whilst charging. Just search and see how many people are encountering this. Once you get into the next days ‘allowance’, it charges fully.
This isnt a thing, this sounds like (assuming you’re not trolling) you have a defective phone, bring it in for service
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)