Samsung and Apple still rule the roost when it comes to smartphone sales but one manufacturer appears to be closing the gap.
The latest smartphone sales stats are in and there’s one very big surprise. That’s according to a new report from the team at Counterpoint who say Xiaomi recorded the biggest growth during 2024. In fact, its share of the market rocketed by a whopping 12% last year and means it is now nipping at the heels of both Apple and Samsung.
The lesser-known Chinese tech brand has launched numerous Android devices over the past 12 months including the Xiaomi 14 Ultra and Mix Flip which features a foldable display. These latest gadgets are clearly proving popular with the company now taking a huge 14% overall share of the market.
That’s compared to Apple with 18% and Samsung with 19%. Those two famous phone firms remain rooted to the top of the leaderboard but Xiaomi’s rapid increase will surely have its rivals looking over their shoulders.
“Xiaomi grew fastest among the top five brands in 2024, helped by its portfolio realignment, premium push and aggressive expansion activities,” Counterpoint explained.
“Samsung continued to lead the market in 2024, led by strong demand for its S24 series and A-series product lines. Apple, with an 18% share took the #2 spot. Apple’s iPhone 16 series was met with a mixed response, partly due to a lack of availability of Apple Intelligence at launch,” the company continued.
2025 looks set to be another big year for phones with Samsung about to launch its new S25 series next week and Apple rumoured to be planning the release of skinny iPhone Air and budget iPhone SE in the coming months.
All of these upcoming call makers will be smarter, faster, last longer and take more impressive photos. It will be interesting to see if that’s enough to keep Samsung and Apple at the top of the sales charts.
Speaking about the new stats, Research Director Tarun Pathak, said: “2024 was a year of recovery and normalization after a difficult 2023. Smartphones continue to be an essential product, pivotal to people’s daily lives, and as macroeconomic pressures softened, the market started showing signs of recovery from Q4 2023 and has now grown for five consecutive quarters. Almost all markets showed growth, led by Europe, China and Latin America.”
