In the first quarter, except for Apple's smartphone shipments, which fell by 9.6%, the growth of these two companies should also be watched
Reporter: Yang Hui Editor: Zhang Haini
The share of the top smartphone manufacturers is still changing. On April 15, the reporter of "Daily Economic News" learned from IDC, an international data company, that according to the preliminary data of IDC's global quarterly mobile phone tracking survey, in the first quarter of 2024, global smartphone shipments increased by 7.8% year-on-year to 289.4 million units. While the industry is not completely out of the woods and the market is still facing macroeconomic challenges, this figure marks the third consecutive quarter of growth in smartphone shipments and is a strong indicator that the recovery is well underway.
In terms of manufacturer share, Apple's shipments in the first quarter of 2024 fell by 9.6% year-on-year, and Samsung replaced Apple as the first with 60.1 million shipments and a market share of 20.8%. It should be noted that in addition to the two major manufacturers competing for the first place, the share change of domestic mobile phone manufacturers is also very critical. Among them, Transsion's shipments in the first quarter of 2024 increased by 84.9% year-on-year, with shipments increasing by 13.1 million units from the previous year, while the overall market increased by about 20.8 million units. Xiaomi's shipments increased by 10.3 million units, a year-on-year increase of 33.8%.
In the view of independent telecom analyst Fu Liang, Transsion and Xiaomi have taken up all the increments. More than 60% of the increase comes from Transsion, which can be described as a "sudden rise", and the layout of Xiaomi's mobile phones in the global market is gradually reflected. "The advantage of Xiaomi and Transsion is that it is cost-effective, which probably means that price-performance is becoming an important factor in changing the global smartphone market. ”
Image source: IDC
Apple's first-quarter shipments fell nearly 10% year-on-year, and Samsung surpassed Apple to become the first
According to IDC analyst Nabila Popal, the smartphone market is emerging from the turmoil of the past two years and is becoming stronger and more volatile. As consumers opt for more expensive devices, they can continue to see an increase in value and average selling price. At the same time, the strength of the top five companies is also changing. This change is likely to continue as market participants make strategic adjustments after the economic recovery.
In terms of specific manufacturer share, according to IDC data, compared with the same period in 2023, in the first quarter of 2024, Apple's global shipments decreased by 9.6% year-on-year to 50.1 million units, with a market share of 17.3%, and Samsung replaced Apple with 60.1 million units to become the No. 1 smartphone manufacturer in the quarter, with a market share of 20.8%.
Image source: IDC
In Fu Liang's view, Apple's decline is expected, which comes more from Apple's previous high-speed growth that surpassed its rivals. He said that it is not surprising that the gradual return of market share to brands with products covering incomplete users, and that more attention should be paid to how much Apple has fallen in the Chinese market.
Apple's iPhone sales in China fell 24 percent year-on-year in the first six weeks of the year, according to forecasts from research firm Counterpoint last month. In this regard, some analysts pointed out that the first half of the year was Apple's sales off-season, and the sales situation in the first quarter was not ideal, and it is expected that the challenge in the second quarter will be greater, and the year-on-year sales will also decline.
Ryan Reith, vice president of IDC's worldwide mobile and consumer device tracking division, pointed out that, as expected, the recovery of smartphones continues to advance, and market optimism for top brands is slowly building. While lDC expects Samsung and Apple to maintain their positions in the premium segment, Huawei's recovery in China, as well as significant gains from Xiaomi, Transsion, OPPO, OnePlus and vivo, could lead both manufacturers to look for areas to expand and diversify.
Xiaomi and Transsion "all-inclusive" all the increments Cost performance is becoming an important factor in changing the market
In addition to the two major manufacturers competing for the first place, the share changes of domestic mobile phone manufacturers are also worth paying attention to. Fu Liang pointed out that in the first quarter of 2024, Transsion's global smartphone shipments increased by 84.9% year-on-year, from 15.4 million units in the previous year to 28.5 million units, an increase of 13.1 million units, while the overall market only increased by 20.8 million units.
In other words, more than 60% of the increase came from Transsion, which can be described as a sudden rise. ”
In addition to Transsion, Xiaomi's shipments increased by 33.8% year-on-year, with a net increase of 10.3 million units. Judging from the growth situation alone, Transsion and Xiaomi have almost "covered" all the increments. In this regard, Fu Liang pointed out that the layout of Xiaomi mobile phones in the global market is gradually reflected. In addition, since the advantages of Xiaomi and Transsion are both price-performance ratio, this is likely to mean that price-performance ratio is becoming an important factor in changing the global smartphone market.
In terms of other brands, Fu Liang's analysis pointed out that Huawei, Honor, and vivo have all achieved growth rates close to the general trend, accounting for nearly three percent. However, Huawei and vivo, which shined in China in the first quarter, still failed to drive further breakthroughs in the "other", and market breakthroughs outside China have become more critical.
In addition, in the first quarter of 2024, OPPO's global smartphone shipments fell by 8.5% year-on-year, recording the second largest decline after Apple, and its market share fell from 10.3% to 8.7%, a decrease of 1.6 percentage points. "This also means that Huawei, Honor, and Vivo have not yet reached 8.7%. However, historically, IDC's forecasts for some companies are low compared to other companies. Fu Liang said.