Counterpoint Research is back with its Q3 2024 report on the top best-selling smartphones, and the market appears to be quite similar to Q3 2023. While Apple leads the chart with four phones in total, Samsung has more reasons to celebrate this time. In fact, it’s the first time since 2018 that an S variant has made it onto the list of best-selling smartphones globally.
Apple wins the best-selling smartphones chart, but Samsung has two more reasons to celebrate
Apple is leading the chart, with the iPhone 15 being the top-selling smartphone in the third quarter of 2024, closely followed by the iPhone 15 Pro Max and iPhone 15 Pro. While none of Samsung’s phones made it into the top three of best-selling smartphones in Q3 2024, five of its models did make it into the top 10. These include the Galaxy A15 4G (4th), Galaxy A15 5G (5th), Galaxy A35 5G (6th), Galaxy A05 (7th), and Galaxy S24 (10th). Except Apple and Samsung, only Xiaomi’s Redmi 13C 46 (9th) has made it to the list.
Samsung’s share has grown, keeping the top 10 smartphones’ total market share around 19%, as Counterpoint notes. Samsung’s Galaxy S24 making to the list, becoming the first S variant to do since 2018, also confirms that company’s genAI plans are paying off.
Could genAI be the factor behind growing demand for premium smartphones?
It could suggest so. According to a recent YouGov survey published in September, nearly 6 out of every 10 consumers now prefer to have AI features when buying a new phone, and nearly 21% of the total feel that genAI features are “very important”.
The fact that premium smartphones are making their way to the top shows that more people are looking for high-end phones. Much of this can be attributed to the genAI, which Samsung introduced with the Galaxy S24 earlier this year. Apple, however, has officially launched a limited set of Apple Intelligence features for the iPhone 15 Pro and later models.
