iPhone sales dropped in 2024 compared to the previous year, according to separate reports released Monday by a pair of market research firms. Still, Apple shipped more handsets last year than any other company, including arch-rival Samsung.
And 2024 brought strong sales growth in Apple’s non-core markets. Premium iPhone models are selling well in China, too.
Modest 2024 iPhone sales decline
As they have for many years, Apple and Samsung continue to dominate the global smartphone market, combining for 37% of the total, according to both IDC and Counterpoint Research.
iPhone led the world in shipments both during the fourth quarter of 2024 and for the whole year, reports IDC. This is the second year in a row Apple tops both lists. It’s still close though — for the year, Apple made up 18.7% of the market and Samsung was just 0.7 percentage point behind.
That said, IDC reports iPhone shipments declined 0.9% in 2024 compared to the previous year, and were down 4.1% in the holiday shopping season.
The drop in iPhone sales can be chalked up to a somewhat bobbled launch of the latest models. “Apple’s iPhone 16 series was met with a mixed response, partly due to a lack of availability of Apple Intelligence at launch,” said Counterpoint Research. The newest iOS handsets hit the market weeks before phase one of the suite of AI-powered features dubbed Apple Intelligence. And these features are still rolling out, with more expected this spring in iOS 18.4.
Good news for Apple
A decline in sales for its top product can’t be construed as positive for any company, including Apple. Nevertheless, Counterpoint Research’s latest report does include some good news.
“iPhone sell-through was down, but consumers are pivoting to Apple’s ultra-high end, helping to offset some of the declines,” noted Ivan Lam, Senior Analyst at Counterpoint Research.
And there was growth in some geographic areas. “Apple continued to grow strongly in its non-core markets like Latin America, Africa and Asia-Pacific-Others,” said the analysis firm. These are probably first-time iPhone buyers, expanding the company’s global reach.
Plus, there’s a positive development in China, a very important market for Apple. “In markets like China, we’re seeing sell-through share of Pro series devices ballooning,” said Counterpoint Research’s Lam. “To illustrate, Pro and Pro Max devices were at mid-forties share in China during Q4 2023, but in Q4 2024, we’re likely to see the final numbers tip well over the halfway mark.”
The also-rans
While Apple and Samsung split the lion’s share of the global smartphone market, there are other players. It’s just that most of these are so small that many Americans might have never heard of them.
Xiaomi made up 14% of the global market in 2024, while Oppo and Vivo had 8% each, according to Counterpoint.
“While their core markets remain China and Asia, these brands are rapidly expanding their footprint throughout Europe and Africa, driven by the strong performance of their low-end and mid-range devices,” said Francisco Jeronimo, vice president for EMEA Client Devices, IDC.
While more Americans are aware of Google’s Pixel line of Androids, not enough for these sell to make it into the Top 5.
