According to Counterpoint Research's global monthly smartphone model tracker, Samsung and Apple (AAPL.US) continued to dominate the top 10 smartphone sales in Q2 2024, taking nine of the slots. However, this is down from Q2 2023 when the two brands took all 10 slots. Apple maintained its position on the list with its four iPhone models.
However, the iPhone's ranking on the list has fallen. While the iPhone 14 series and iPhone 13 took the top four spots in Q2 2023, the iPhone 15, iPhone 15 Pro Max and iPhone 15 Pro took the top three spots this quarter. The iPhone 14 only ranked sixth.
Apple's contribution to the top five smartphones in terms of total sales and sales share declined quarter-over-quarter in Q2 2024. However, the growth in Pro series sales and share, along with the decline in older iPhone models, indicates a shift in demand towards premium smartphones. While the ranking of the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra at ninth in Q2 2024 seems to contradict the trend towards premiumization, the early release of flagship phones this year shifted some sales to Q1, playing a role.
The top Samsung smartphone on the list this quarter was the Galaxy A15 5G, followed by its 4G version. The A15 series offers efficient multitasking capabilities and is popular in the midrange market. Other Samsung models on the list also belong to its A series. The mid-premium Galaxy A55 5G, with some interesting security features, ranked seventh. Another entry-level model, the Galaxy A05, ranked tenth.
From a broader perspective, the number of premium smartphones in the top five remained five in Q2 2024, the same as in Q2 2023, but its cumulative sales share of the global smartphone market declined by about 1.5%. The early release of the S24 Ultra and the difficulties faced by the iPhone 15 series in China contributed to this decline, which does not reflect a broader trend. Moreover, Apple lost a large portion of its share to Huawei's premium models. With the increase in GenAI smartphones this year, especially with the release of the iPhone 16 series, the agency expects the trend towards premiumization to continue for a long time.