Each of the world’s top ten best-selling smartphones comes from one of two companies: Apple and Samsung. Counterpoint Research just released its top ten best-selling phones report, and it’s a pretty familiar story from the past year: Apple and Samsung have taken it by storm.
One shift: People are spending more on iPhones, and Apple’s Pro line is developing to account for a share of all iPhone sales this year, up from just 24% in 2023. It’s not just the Pro models that are getting good results: Apple’s larger Max models. They’re also getting cleaned, a sign that other people need bigger and bigger smartphones, Counterpoint says.
Here are the top 10 best-selling smartphone models worldwide during the first quarter of 2024, along with the percentage of total smartphone sales they captured:
In the same quarter last year, Apple also ranked among the top four sensible global vendors.
Samsung’s Galaxy S24 Ultra also performed well, just as Samsung unseated Apple as the phone maker that sells the most gadgets in the world.
“The strong functionality of the S24 series can be attributed to Samsung’s early upgrade of the series and its efforts in generative AI (GenAI) technology,” says Counterpoint. “The S24 series is the first to hit the market with GenAI features and capabilities, allowing users to create exclusive content and enjoy a new point of interaction with their smartphones.
The problem with other people opting for bigger, better, and more expensive phones: they also keep them longer and don’t update them as quickly. For Apple, Samsung, and other smartphone makers, this means a decline in sales consistent with the year. even when the unit load increases.
That said, however, the first quarter of 2024 also saw the smartphone gains of any first quarter in history, with the global smartphone market growing 6% to approximately 300 million devices shipped, Counterpoint reported just 3 days ago.
Obviously, there’s still a market for lower-end, less expensive phones: Apple’s iPhone 14, the fourth-best-selling style on the planet, and Samsung’s Galaxy A34 and A54, as well as the A15 5G, joined its S24 and S24 Ultra styles in the top ten.
As smartphone promotion becomes difficult, Apple is shifting some of its focus to bigger and more valuable services, whether or not other people buy them, whether or not they have a new phone. In its recent quarterly earnings report, Apple beat forecasts with $23. 1 billion in services. profits, achieving $23. 9 billion to accompany a strong quarter of $46 billion in profit from iPhone sales.
The flat quarter is worrisome, especially since Apple’s new sales in the U. S. — a historically important market for the company — hit a six-year low in the last quarter.