Global smartphone market climbs in Q1; Samsung is back on top

The global smartphone market realized another strong growth in the first quarter of 2024 with South Korea's Samsung back on top.

File photo: Samsung Galaxy logo on its MWC 2024 booth in Barcelona, Spain

Smartphone shipments up in Q1

Based on data from the International Data Corporation (IDC), worldwide smartphone shipments jumped 7.8 percent to 289.4 million units in the first three months of the year. This marked the three consecutive quarters of shipment growth despite persistent economic challenges.

IDC described this momentum as "a strong indicator that a recovery is well underway" for the industry.

As expected, smartphone recovery continues to move forward with market optimism slowly building among the top brands, said Ryan Reith, group vice president with IDC's Worldwide Mobility and Consumer Device Trackers.

Last quarter, Samsung defeated US-based firm Apple in the top spot. Apple held the position for 2023.

While IDC expects these two companies to maintain their hold on the high end of the market, the resurgence of Huawei in China, as well as notable gains from Xiaomi, Transsion, OPPO/OnePlus, and vivo will likely have both OEMs looking for areas to expand and diversify. As the recovery progresses, we're likely to see the top companies gain share as the smaller brands struggle for positioning, Reith added.

Here's the list of the top-performing smartphone manufacturers in the first quarter of 2024:

Top 5 smartphone brands in Q1 2024

Top 5 smartphone brands in the world (Q1 2024)

1. Samsung - 20.8 percent market share

2. Apple - 17.3 percent market share

3. Xiaomi - 14.1 percent market share

4. Transsion - 9.9 percent market share

5. OPPO - 8.7 percent market share

Source: IDC