The big picture: In 2024, global smartphone shipments bounced back to 1.22 billion units, marking a significant recovery after two consecutive years of decline. This positive growth, however, might be temporary, as both vendors and consumers could face challenges in 2025 due to economic instability, U.S. tariffs, and other external factors.
Apple managed to retain its leadership position, bolstered by strong performance in emerging markets and stable results in key regions such as North America and Europe, as detailed in Canalys’ latest report. The company shipped 225.9 million iPhones in 2024, a modest 1% decline compared to the previous year, which was sufficient to mitigate challenges faced in the Chinese market.
At the end of the year, Apple reported its best-ever quarterly performance, with revenue hitting $124.3 billion, despite a slight year-over-year drop in iPhone sales. Nevertheless, the smartphone sector of the company delivered a remarkable $69.1 billion in the holiday quarter alone.
Samsung closely followed Apple, shipping 222.9 million units, which represented a 1% decrease compared to 2023. Xiaomi secured third place with a 14% market share, having boosted its shipments by 15% to 168.6 million units. Transsion and Oppo completed the top five, with shipments of 106.7 million and 103.6 million units, respectively.
According to Canalys analyst Runar Bjørhovde, 2024 saw the highest annual global smartphone shipment volume since the pandemic. This was partly driven by the recovery of major economies like China, North America, and Europe. Additionally, promotional efforts such as discounts, trade-ins, and bundled offers played a pivotal role in stimulating demand across these regions.
When looking at specific models, the iPhone 15 emerged as the best-selling smartphone of 2024, with six out of the seven top-selling models being iPhones. The only exception was the Samsung Galaxy A15, which ranked fourth. Samsung also placed its A15 5G and S24 Ultra models in the eighth and ninth positions, but Apple dominated the rest of the chart.
Image credit: Daniel Romero
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