Sales slump, Apple loses its top spot in smartphone shipments, Samsung takes the lead, while Xiaomi grows rapidly to rank third!

The latest report released by the International Data Corporation (IDC) on Monday shows that in the first quarter of 2024, Apple's iPhone global shipments suffered a severe blow, dropping by nearly 10% year-on-year, under strong competition from Chinese rivals Xiaomi and Transsion Holdings, losing the top spot in smartphone shipments and allowing Samsung to reclaim its dominance in the global smartphone market.

Samsung Takes the Crown, Apple Slips to Second, Xiaomi Ranks Third, Transsion Shows Rapid Growth

According to the IDC report, Apple's first-quarter shipments were 50.1 million units, a 9.6% decrease from 55.4 million units in the same period last year. Among the top five smartphone brands in the report, Apple saw the largest year-on-year decline. Its market share also dropped from 20.7% a year ago to 17.3%, sliding from first place globally to second.

After losing the top spot in the fourth quarter of last year, Samsung regained the top spot in the first quarter of this year, with a market share of 20.8% and shipments remaining relatively stable compared to last year at 60.1 million units.

"Although IDC expects these two companies to continue to dominate the high-end smartphone market, the strong growth of Xiaomi, Transsion, OPPO/OnePlus, and Vivo may prompt these two original equipment manufacturers to seek expansion and diversification," said Ryan Reith, Vice President of Global Mobile and Consumer Device Trackers at IDC.

IDC data shows that Xiaomi's first-quarter shipments surged by 33.8% to reach 40.8 million units, while Transsion Holdings skyrocketed by 84.9% to reach 28.5 million units.

Transsion Holdings is showing the strongest momentum among all smartphone manufacturers. With brands such as Tecno, Itel, and Infinix under its umbrella, it has quietly become the largest smartphone manufacturer in Africa and the fifth largest globally. Transsion is entering the Southeast Asian market and attempting to enter the high-end market by launching foldable screen smartphones.

Compared to Xiaomi and Transsion Holdings, OPPO's performance was relatively lackluster, with first-quarter shipments declining by 8.5% to 25.2 million units.

The IDC report shows that in terms of shipments, Xiaomi (14.1%), Transsion Holdings (9.9%), and OPPO (8.7%) ranked third, fourth, and fifth globally in market share in the first quarter.

"There is a shift in strength among the top five companies, and this trend may continue," said Nabila Popal, Research Director of the IDC Global Tracker Team. "After experiencing a significant decline over the past two years, Xiaomi is making a strong comeback, while Transsion Holdings is becoming a stable brand in the top five with active growth in the international market."

Global Smartphone Market Steadily Recovers, Apple Falls Behind

The report also shows that in the first quarter of 2024, the total global smartphone shipments increased by 7.8% year-on-year to reach 289.4 million units. IDC stated that despite facing macroeconomic challenges, this is the third consecutive quarter of shipment growth, "a strong indicator of the ongoing recovery." Unfortunately, in the global smartphone industry's overall recovery trend, Apple seems to have missed the opportunity. Since the beginning of this year, the stock prices of most tech giants have been soaring, with gains reaching double-digit percentages, while Apple's stock price has fallen by about 7% against the trend.

Despite consumers increasingly favoring higher-priced and longer-lasting high-end devices, Apple's iPhone sales in its largest overseas market, China, continue to decline sharply.

According to previous reports by the media, in February of this year, iPhone shipments in China were 2.4 million units, a sharp drop of 33% year-on-year, continuing the trend of declining shipments since the beginning of this year. In January, iPhone shipments in China were 5.5 million units, a decrease of 39% year-on-year