Apple Loses to Android as Smartphone Market Recovers
New analysis reveals the smartphone market recovering in 2024 following two years of sharp declines.
Nevertheless, Apple’s iPhone performed only a small half in that restoration in comparison with rival Android telephones, data released Tuesday (Nov. 26) by IDC reveals.
World smartphone shipments for the yr are projected to extend 6.2% to 1.24 billion items, IDC’s Worldwide Quarterly Cell Telephone Tracker reveals. It’s a pattern pushed by “pent-up demand for machine upgrades,” the analysis group mentioned in a news release.
And whereas this yr marked a sturdy restoration for the smartphone area, IDC expects development to gradual to single digits from subsequent yr and past, resulting from rising smartphone penetration, longer refresh cycles, and a fast-growing marketplace for used telephones.
“Whereas GenAI continues to be a sizzling matter and prime precedence for a lot of distributors, it’s but to impression demand considerably and drive early upgrades,” mentioned Nabila Popal, senior analysis director with IDC’s Worldwide Quarterly Cell Telephone Tracker.
“Whereas we proceed to consider GenAI will revolutionize the consumer expertise within the years to come back, extra investments are wanted to extend client consciousness and introduce a ‘should have’ function that can rush shoppers to the shop and create that super cycle which everyone seems to be ready for.”
For now, added Popal, IDC anticipates that smartphones utilizing generative synthetic intelligence (GenAI) will “take their place in premium flagship gadgets” and grow to be 70% of the smartphone market by 2028.
In accordance with the report, Android telephones noticed fast development of seven.6% this yr in Asia (excluding Japan and China), Latin America, the Center East and Africa, particularly in lower-end gadgets. This development was essential to the general 6.2% improve. By comparability, Apple’s iOS telephones are anticipated to climb simply 0.4% for the yr.
“Regardless of report breaking efficiency in rising markets like India, Apple faces challenges in large markets like China, US and Europe,” the report mentioned. “Waiting for 2025, the tides will flip as iOS is predicted to develop by 3.1% year-over-year, outpacing Android’s forecasted 1.7% development over the identical interval.”
PYMNTS examined the race amongst smartphone makers to entice consumers using AI earlier this month.
“One advantage of AI-powered apps is their means to create personalised experiences,” Dmytro Tymoshenko, the CEO of Noiz, which creates AI-powered summaries of YouTube movies, instructed PYMNTS. “AI is ready to analyze information at a really excessive pace, which permits it to, as an illustration, suggest content material based mostly on consumer preferences fairly quick.”
