As the global smartphone market continues to recover, Apple’s iPhone achieved record sales for the third quarter of this year.
The two companies’ performance is very close, with Canalys actually pegging both companies at 18% market share, but Samsung is “barely holding onto pole position” based on sales. Apple’s 18% is a 1% year-on-year improvement from Q3 2023, while Samsung’s is down 3% over the same period.
Importantly, Samsung launched its latest smartphones in July, at the beginning of the quarter. Apple’s iPhone 16 series just launched on September 13, midway through the last month of the quarter.
Global smartphone market in Q3 2024 (Source: Canalys)
Usually, the release of a new smartphone boosts sales at launch, but this time the schedule may have worked in Apple’s favor for a different reason. Sales of the iPhone 16 series have been lackluster, perhaps due to the short launch period in the third quarter.
Canalys still predicts, thanks to Apple Intelligence, that the iPhone 16 series will help Apple “end 2024 strongly and contribute to momentum in the first half of 2025.” Nevertheless, analysts attribute Apple’s third-quarter success to its previous model.
Canalys analyst Runar Björhovde said: “Apple has delivered record third-quarter sales and has never been closer to leading the global smartphone market in a third quarter than it is now.” “Continued strong demand for the iPhone 15 series and Apple’s legacy models played a significant role in our third quarter results.”
Björhovde said, “The market shift towards premium devices intersected with continuous update cycles for devices purchased during the pandemic has benefited Apple, especially in the company’s strongholds such as North America and Europe.” continued.
Overall, Canalys reports that the global smartphone market grew by 5% YoY in Q3 2024. This makes this the fourth consecutive quarter of growth.
