According to the latest report released by the International Data Corporation (IDC) on Monday, in the first quarter of 2024, global Apple iPhone shipments were hit hard by strong impacts from Chinese rivals Xiaomi and Communication Holdings, which plummeted nearly 10% from the previous year, losing the top position in mobile phone shipments, and Samsung regained its dominant position in the global smartphone market.

Samsung climbed to the top, Apple slipped to second, Xiaomi ranked third, and audio growth was the most rapid

According to the IDC report, Apple shipped 50.1 million units in the first quarter, down 9.6% from 55.4 million units in the same period last year. Among the top five smartphone brands in the report, Apple saw the biggest year-on-year decline. Its market share also fell from 20.7% a year ago to 17.3%, and the global ranking slipped from first to second.

After losing the top spot in the fourth quarter of last year, Samsung regained the top spot in the first quarter of this year, and its market share rebounded to 20.8%. Shipments were basically the same as last year, at 60.1 million units.

“Although IDC expects these two companies to continue to dominate the high-end mobile phone market, strong growth in Xiaomi, Voice, Oppo/OnePlus, and Vivo is likely to push the two OEMs to look for expansion and diversification,” said Ryan Reith, vice president of IDC Global Mobile and Consumer Device Trackers.

According to IDC data, Xiaomi's shipments soared 33.8% to 40.8 million units in the first quarter, while Audio Holdings surged 84.9% to 28.5 million units.

Communication Holdings has the strongest momentum among all mobile phone manufacturers. It owns the Tecno, Itel, and Infinix brands, and has quietly become the largest smartphone manufacturer in Africa and the fifth largest in the world. Voice is entering the Southeast Asian market and is trying to enter the high-end market by launching folding screen phones.

Compared to Xiaomi and Audio Holdings, OPPO's performance was poor, with shipments falling 8.5% in the first quarter to 25.2 million units.

According to the IDC report, in terms of shipment volume, Xiaomi (14.1%), Voice Holdings (9.9%), and OPPO (8.7%) ranked third, fourth, and fifth in the world in terms of market share in the first quarter, respectively.

“There is a power shift between the top five companies, and this trend is likely to continue,” said Nabila Popal, research director of IDC's Global Tracker team. “After experiencing a sharp decline over the past two years, Xiaomi is making a strong return, and Communication Holdings is steadily becoming the top five brand with positive growth in the international market.”

The global smartphone market is recovering steadily, and Apple is one step ahead

The report also shows that total global smartphone shipments in the first quarter of 2024 increased 7.8% year-on-year to 289.4 million units. IDC said that despite facing macroeconomic challenges, this was the third consecutive quarter of growth in shipments. “This is a strong indicator of ongoing recovery.”

Unfortunately, in the midst of an overall recovery in the global smartphone industry, Apple seems to have missed an opportunity. Since this year, the stock prices of most tech giants have soared, reaching double-digit percentages, but Apple's stock price bucked the trend and fell by about 7%.

Despite consumers increasingly favoring higher-end devices that are more expensive and have a longer lifespan, Apple's iPhone sales in China, its largest overseas market, have plummeted.

According to previous media reports, the number of iPhone phones shipped in China in February this year was 2.4 million units, a sharp drop of 33% from the previous year, continuing the trend of declining shipments that began this year. In January, the number of iPhone shipments in China was 5.5 million units, a decrease of 39% over the previous year.