As worldwide smartphones shipments continued on a path of recovery during the first quarter of 2024, Samsung has once again surpassed Apple as the leading smartphone provider.

Preliminary data from the International Data Corporation’s (IDC’s) Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker shows that global smartphone shipments increased 7.8% to 289.4-million units during the first quarter of 2024.

“While the industry is not completely out of the woods, as macroeconomic challenges remain in many markets, this marks the third consecutive quarter of shipment growth, a strong indicator that a recovery is well underway,” says IDC Worldwide Mobility and Consumer Device Trackers group VP Ryan Reith.

He notes that smartphone recovery continues to move forward with market optimism slowly building among the top brands.

“While Apple managed to capture the top spot at the end of 2023, Samsung successfully reasserted itself as the leading smartphone provider in the first quarter,” he says.

In 2023, Samsung, for the first time since 2010, fell from the top spot for the year as Apple secured the number one ranking after achieving an all-time high market share.

While Samsung and Apple both registered negative growth during the first quarter of 2024, the IDC expects these two companies to maintain their hold on the high end of the market. Further, Samsung seems to be in a stronger position overall than it was in recent quarters, adds IDC Worldwide Tracker team research director Nabila Popal.

However, the firm highlighted notable gains from Xiaomi and Transsion.

Popal explains that Xiaomi is “coming back” strong from the large declines it experienced over the past two years and Transsion is becoming a stable presence in the top five with aggressive growth in international markets.

In addition, OPPO/OnePlus and vivo will likely seek out areas to expand and diversify.

“As the recovery progresses, we are likely to see the top companies gain share as the smaller brands struggle for positioning. The smartphone market is emerging from the turbulence of the last two years both stronger and changed,” she says.

“Firstly, we continue to see growth in value and average selling prices as consumers opt for more expensive devices knowing they will hold onto their devices longer. Secondly, there is a shift in power among the top five companies, which will likely continue as market players adjust their strategies in a post-recovery world.”

The IDC Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker shows that, during the first quarter of 2024, Samsung shipped 60.1-million units and had a 20.8% market share. This is a 0.7% decline from the 60.5-million units shipped in the comparative period in 2023, when the company recorded a 22.5% market share.

Apple, meanwhile, experienced a 9.6% decline, from 55.4-million units shipped and a 20.7% market share in the first quarter of 2023, to 50.1-million units shipped and a 17.3% market share in the quarter under review.

Xiaomi, maintaining its number three position, achieved shipments of 40.8-million and a market share of 14.1% in the first quarter of 2024, a 33.8% surge from the 30.5- million shipments and a market share of 11.4% in the comparative quarter last year.

Transsion, securing the fourth spot, achieved significant growth of 84.9% to 28.5-million-units shipped and a market share of 9.9% in the first quarter, compared with shipments of 15.4-million and a market share of 5.7% in the first quarter of 2023.