The global smartphone market is growing by 6.5 percent, but not thanks to Western purchasing behavior. Chinese companies in particular are doing well.

The smartphone market grew by 6.5 percent last quarter. According to IDC, manufacturers shipped about 285.4 million devices. This growth comes mainly from the Far East and emerging markets, where brands that are less common in our country are making big leaps.

Large market share, small growth

With a market share of 18.9 percent, Samsung remains the market leader. This is less than the share of twenty percent in the second quarter of 2023. In absolute terms, Samsung recorded an increase in the number of devices shipped by 0.7 percent (to 53.9 million).

Apple is in second place with 45.2 million units shipped, representing a market share of 15.8 percent. This is also less than the 16.6 percent a year ago, although the number of iPhones sold grew by 1.5 percent in the past quarter.

The big winner, however, is Xiaomi in third place. The Chinese phone maker, which is also active in our market, saw a 12.4 percent increase in phones sold, from 33.2 million to 42.3 million. Xiaomi, for example, has a market share of 14.8 percent.

Vivo and Oppo

Vivo and Oppo share fourth place, each owning nine percent of the market. Oppo is also active in Europe, but makes profits primarily in emerging markets. Sales in the EU were also low last year, although the manufacturer has made a comeback in recent months. Vivo is less well known to us. Both phone manufacturers, like Xiaomi, are Chinese through and through.

IDC notes that China and emerging markets (such as India) are the biggest growth drivers. On the one hand, the Chinese are buying more premium devices, and on the other hand, Chinese manufacturers are breaking through with models tailored to these markets. Our phone market is now quite saturated and therefore more static.