Apple leads smartphone market in fourth quarter, overcoming China decline

Apple dominated the global smartphone market in the final quarter of 2024 despite facing challenges in China, according to recent research.

The Cupertino, California-based technology giant captured 23 per cent of the global market last quarter, driven by the launch of its iPhone 16 series in mid-September, which boosted sales during the holiday shopping season, according to a report on Tuesday from market consultancy Canalys.

The popularity of the new iPhone helped it offset a sales decline in China, where Apple is struggling to launch its artificial intelligence service owing to regulatory hurdles while also contending with increasing competition from a resurgent Huawei Technologies and other local players.

Apple’s China sales declined in the first three quarters of last year, falling 25 per cent and 6 per cent year on year in the first and third quarters, respectively, coming in fifth place among smartphone vendors those quarters, according to Canalys. In the second quarter, it fell out of the top five.

South Korea’s Samsung Electronics ranked second in the fourth quarter with 16 per cent market share globally, while China’s Xiaomi, Transsion Holdings, and Vivo rounded out the top five.