Smartphone sales had been falling for a while, but Apple seemed to be weathering the storm and actually ended 2023 with great news: It became the manufacturer that sold the most mobile phones for the year, even surpassing Samsung. Three months later, things are going wrong for the Cupertinos. And a lot.

What happened. According to data published by IDC, mobile sales increased by 7.8% worldwide in the first quarter of 2024. There is optimism about the market’s recovery as this is the third quarter in a row that sales have been encouraged and increased, as analysts have noted. .

Global mobile sales in the first quarter of 2024. Source: IDC.

Samsung regains its throne. The news is generally good for the market, but there are clear winners and losers on the field. Samsung is one of them: The company again took first place in the number of terminals sold with 60.1 million. In the first three months of the year, one in every five mobile phones sold in the world came from Samsung. Still, this figure is slightly below the 60.5 million figure achieved a year ago.

Apple is entering crisis. The negative surprise came from Apple, which experienced a decrease of at least 9.6% in sales compared to the same period last year. While this once again puts it in second place in the number of mobile phones sold, it also causes it to lose market share. The decisive reason for these poor results was the rapid decline in sales in China.

Magnificent quarter for Xiaomi. However, the most remarkable results in growth were seen in two companies. The first of these is Xiaomi, which managed to grow by 33.8% in units sold, but interestingly its success is also seen outside China: there its terminals were sold 7% less than in the first quarter of 2024.

And even more amazing for Transsion. Even more striking is the growth of the Chinese manufacturer Transsion, which has conquered the African continent and is gradually expanding to other regions. According to IDC, its sales have almost doubled (84.9% growth), allowing it to overtake OPPO (selling 8.5% less) and position itself as the fourth manufacturer worldwide.

Huawei re-emerges in China. Although it is not included in the IDC results, Huawei also stands out in sales at the Asian giant and is already in second place in the share. According to data from consultancy firm Counterpoint, Huawei has recorded a growth of no less than 64 percent in sales despite the veto it has suffered for years and is getting stronger.

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