2024年第三季度，三星以近19%的市场份额位居全球智能手机市场榜首。苹果(AAPL.US)以17%的市场份额位居第二。小米(01810)、OPPO（包括一加）和vivo占据其余前五名的位置，随后是传音、联想-摩托罗拉、荣耀、Realme和华为。在前十大供应商中，荣耀、传音(688036.SH)、三星和OPPO（包括一加）的出货量呈下降趋势，其余六家厂商均实现了年增长率。According to the latest research from TechInsights Mobile Team, the global smart phone shipment volume in the third quarter of 2024 increased by 3.8% year-on-year, reaching 0.3077 billion units, marking the fourth consecutive quarter of recovery.
Smart Finance APP learned from the latest research by TechInsights Mobile Team that the global smart phone shipment volume in the third quarter of 2024 increased by 3.8% year-on-year, reaching 0.3077 billion units, marking the fourth consecutive quarter of recovery. However, compared to the previous three quarters, the growth rate has slowed to low single digits. Global smart phone wholesale revenue increased by 3.5% year-on-year to $98.2 billion. Smart phone wholesale Average Selling Price (ASP) has been declining for four consecutive quarters, down 0.3% year-on-year.
The recovery of the smart phone market is largely driven by the surge in demand from emerging markets. Significant progress has been made in the Africa-Middle East region, Central and Latin America, and the Asia-Pacific region, becoming the main driving force behind the recovery. In contrast, the Middle East Europe region has shown a decline due to geopolitical tensions. North America has experienced a high single-digit decline, while Western Europe has achieved moderate annual growth.
In the third quarter of 2024, Samsung topped the global smart phone market with nearly 19% market share. Apple (AAPL.US) ranked second with a 17% market share. Xiaomi (01810), OPPO (including OnePlus), and vivo held the remaining positions in the top five, followed by Transsion, Lenovo-Motorola, Honor, Realme, and Huawei. Among the top ten suppliers, Honor, Transsion (688036.SH), Samsung, and OPPO (including OnePlus) saw a decrease in shipment volume, while the remaining six vendors achieved annual growth.
Figure 1: Global smart phone shipment volume and market share in the third quarter of 2024
Source: TechInsights Wireless Smartphones Strategic (WSS) Channel
Samsung's global smart phone shipment volume was 57.7 million units, accounting for nearly 19% market share, lower than the 20% a year ago. The company's smart phone shipment volume decreased by 3% year-on-year, performing worse than the overall market and many competitors. Except for the Middle East Europe and Africa-Middle East regions, Samsung saw year-on-year declines in all other regions. Its performance in mature markets and India has been mixed due to intensified competition from Apple and some leading Chinese brands. In addition, the newly launched Z Flip 6 did not meet expectations due to its high retail price, minimal hardware upgrades, and insufficient channel promotions. Samsung's smart phone wholesale Average Selling Price (ASP) remained stable this quarter, but profit margins declined, mainly attributed to higher component costs and operating expenses. The company ranked first in Central and Latin America, Middle East Europe, and Africa-Middle East regions, and second in North America and Western Europe.
Apple's iPhone global shipment volume for this quarter is 52.4 million units, a year-on-year increase of 12%. It holds a 17% market share, increasing by one percentage point from 16% a year ago. Apart from North America (weak performance in the Canadian market), Apple's shipments have grown annually in all major regions and markets, mainly due to significant price discounts on the iPhone 15 and older iPhone models. The declining trend of Apple in China has ended this quarter. The shipment volume of Apple's iPhone in China increased by 2% year-on-year, showing improvement compared to an 8% decline in the second quarter of 2024. We believe that the significant price discounts on the iPhone 15 series and older iPhone models, along with strong channel promotions for the newly launched iPhone 16 series by third parties, have helped the company improve its performance in the world's largest smart phone market this quarter. In North America, Apple maintained its leading position, but shipments decreased by 2% year-on-year. In contrast, Apple achieved double-digit growth in Western Europe (17% year-on-year). Performance in Japan also improved (15% year-on-year). Growth in India (48% year-on-year) and other emerging markets is particularly significant.
Xiaomi continues to hold the third position with a global shipment volume of 42.8 million units, a 3% year-on-year increase, accounting for a 14% market share. It is worth noting that this Chinese manufacturer has maintained a growth trend for five consecutive quarters. However, the growth rate this quarter has significantly slowed to single digits. The strong performance in the Chinese market (13% year-on-year growth) exceeded expectations, mainly due to healthy demand for the Redmi K70 series and Xiaomi 14 series. Performance in other regions (excluding Central and Latin America) and India remains weak. We believe that inventory adjustments are one of the main reasons for the slowdown in growth. This pattern is expected to continue in the coming quarters. In India, Xiaomi ranks second this quarter with a 17% market share (second only to vivo), slightly lower than the previous year's level. In China, Xiaomi's growth rate reached double digits, ranking top three.
OPPO (including OnePlus) surpassed vivo and Transsion (including Tecno, Infinix, and itel) to rank fourth this quarter. The combined shipment volume of these two brands is 27.7 million units, with an annual growth rate flat compared to the same period last year, and a 9% market share. OPPO's brand shipment volume is 24.2 million units, a 7% year-on-year decrease; OnePlus brand shipment volume is 3.5 million units, a 22% year-on-year decrease. For OnePlus, weak demand in North America and Western Europe, as well as continuing decline in the Indian market, are the main reasons for its poor performance. In contrast, the OPPO brand benefited from Transsion weakening in India and other emerging markets in the Asia-Pacific region, and successfully achieved growth.
Vivo's global smart phone shipments reached 27.6 million units this quarter, a 25% year-on-year growth, holding a 9% market share, ranking fifth. This quarter, vivo ranked first in the Asia-Pacific region with a 16% market share, up from 14% a year ago. vivo has maintained the top position for two quarters in both the Chinese and Indian markets. The healthy demand for the iQOO series, solid performance of the Y series in the low-end market, and performance improvements of the X series in the high-end market collectively contributed to the company's robust performance. Besides China and India, vivo achieved strong growth in several emerging markets in the Asia-Pacific region (such as Thailand, Malaysia, the Philippines, etc.). However, the market size in other regions is still in the nascent stage. Considering the current channel inventory backlog in some emerging markets, it is expected that the company may find it difficult to maintain strong momentum in the next few quarters.
Transsion (including Tecno, Infinix, and itel) slipped to sixth place, giving way to vivo from fifth place. The total global smart phone shipment volume of these three brands is 25.1 million units, a 5% year-on-year decrease, with a market share dropping from 9% a year ago to 8% this quarter. Tecno and Infinix account for the majority of the market share, while the itel brand focuses on the lower-priced feature phone market. The company continues to face resistance from Qualcomm and Philips due to intellectual property lawsuits in India and Europe. Additionally, competition in the low-end 4G and 5G sectors is intensifying in India and other emerging markets, mainly from brands like vivo, Xiaomi, Lenovo-Motorola, and Realme.
Lenovo-Motorola rose to the seventh position with a 5% market share, a 26% year-on-year increase in shipments, showing healthy growth in all regions except Central and Latin America. In Central and Latin America, the brand continues to face fierce competition from emerging Chinese brands like Xiaomi, Honor, and Realme. This quarter, the effects of Lenovo-Motorola's acquisition of Fujitsu in Japan have started to show. We estimate that the combined smartphone shipments of Lenovo-Motorola and Fujitsu (Arrows) brands in Japan are close to 0.7 million units, placing the company in the top four positions in the Japanese market for the first time (second only to Apple, Google, and Sharp). In North America, Lenovo-Motorola firmly holds the third position with a market share of 12%, reaching a historical high in the third quarter, thanks to its strong product portfolio in the prepaid market. This quarter, the company's strong momentum in India also continued, doubling its shipment volume.
Honor's strong resilience has weakened, giving way to Lenovo-Motorola from seventh to eighth place with a market share of nearly 5%. Its smartphone shipments totaled 15 million units, a 6% year-on-year decrease. This quarter, nearly 70% of Honor's shipments came from the Chinese market, but shipments dropped by 11%, losing to brands like vivo and Xiaomi. The growth momentum of Honor in overseas markets also slowed this quarter.
Realme maintains the ninth position with a market share of nearly 5%. In the third quarter of 2024, its shipments increased by 6% year-on-year, with major growth coming from the Central and Eastern Europe, Latin America, and Middle East and Africa regions. In Central Europe and the Middle East and Africa region, Realme remains in the top five. However, its performance in China and India remains inconsistent.
Huawei ranked tenth, with a 15% year-on-year increase in smart phone shipments this quarter, but the growth rate has significantly slowed compared to previous quarters. In the Chinese market, its shipments increased by 19% year-on-year, tying with Apple in fifth place. Despite the strong demand for the Mate 60 Pro, the performance of the Pura 70 series did not meet expectations. Additionally, the overall demand for foldable screens in the Chinese market cooled down, adversely affecting Huawei's performance this quarter. Huawei did not update its product line in overseas markets, resulting in average global performance. The upcoming release of the Mate 70 series in November is highly anticipated. However, considering the stable performance of the iPhone in the Chinese market and the poor macroeconomic outlook, we are skeptical about whether the Mate 70 series can replicate the success of the Mate 60 Pro from a year ago.
Among the top ten global brands, four brands (Samsung, OPPO (including OnePlus), Transsion, and Honor) experienced a year-on-year decline in shipments, while the remaining brands achieved year-on-year growth. In the third quarter of 2024, Lenovo-Motorola led with the highest year-on-year growth rate of 26%, followed by vivo (25% increase), Huawei (15% increase), and Apple (12% increase). The combined shipments of the top eight Chinese brands in the top ten increased by 6% year-on-year, exceeding the overall market's annual growth rate of 4%. However, we note that the growth rate of Chinese brands has slowed significantly compared to previous quarters, in line with our expectations.
TechInsights predicts that the global smart phone shipments will increase by 5% year-on-year in 2024. In 2025, the growth rate will drop to 2%. Geopolitical factors, economic uncertainty, and rising component prices will continue to drag down the global smart phone market, posing resistance to the sustainability and profitability of smart phone manufacturers. It is expected that Apple and Samsung will maintain their top two positions in 2025. The upcoming iPhone SE (2025) will help Apple top the list next year. Huawei's return to the 5G field will continue to reshape the Chinese and global smart phone markets in 2025 and beyond, but the road to recovery may see fluctuations and imbalances in each quarter.
