Global High-End Smartphone Market Landscape in Q3 2024: Apple Leads, Huawei Closely Follows, and Domestic Chinese Brands Rise

Global High-End Smartphone Market Landscape in Q3 2024: Apple Leads, Huawei Closely Follows, and Domestic Chinese Brands RiseThe global smartphone market continued its recovery in Q3 2024, experiencing a 5% year-on-year growth, marking the fourth consecutive quarter of YoY rebound. Canalys data indicates that annual shipments are projected to reach 1

Global High-End Smartphone Market Landscape in Q3 2024: Apple Leads, Huawei Closely Follows, and Domestic Chinese Brands Rise

The global smartphone market continued its recovery in Q3 2024, experiencing a 5% year-on-year growth, marking the fourth consecutive quarter of YoY rebound. Canalys data indicates that annual shipments are projected to reach 1.22 billion units, a 6% YoY increase. However, the intense competition in the high-end smartphone market is even more noteworthy. This quarter, the market share distribution in the above $600 (approximately 4355 RMB) price segment clearly demonstrates the struggle between industry leaders and emerging forces.

Apple dominated the global high-end market with an overwhelming 63% market share. Samsung followed closely in second place with a 21% share. Huawei secured third place with an 8% share, while Google and Honor each held 2% shares, ranking fourth and fifth respectively. Apple's dominance in the global high-end market is undeniable, with a significant lead.

However, the situation in mainland China is slightly different, with more intense competition. In the same price segment, Apple still held the leading position with a 52% market share, although this represents a 5% year-on-year decrease. Nevertheless, Huawei's strong rise is undeniable, achieving a 33% market sharea remarkable 34% year-on-year growthdemonstrating strong momentum. Honor, Xiaomi, and Samsung occupied the third to fifth positions with 5%, 3%, and 3% market shares respectively. Notably, Xiaomi's year-on-year growth rate reached a staggering 88%, making it one of the fastest-growing brands this quarter, and its performance in the high-end market warrants further attention.

Apple and Huawei's leading positions in both the mainland China and global high-end markets are not accidental. Apple, leveraging its years of accumulated technological advantages, maintains industry-leading levels in chip performance, system fluidity, and application ecosystems. Even amidst recent criticisms of incremental updates, the overall strength of the iPhone continues to attract numerous users. Furthermore, Apple is actively responding to the rise of Android, continuously developing new features such as Apple Intelligence to maintain its competitive edge.

Huawei, relying on its deep accumulation in communication technology and continuous investment in chip R&D and imaging systems, has achieved an all-around improvement in product strength. Simultaneously, Huawei actively strengthens brand promotion and marketing, enhancing its brand image and consumer recognition, enabling it to compete head-to-head with Apple in the high-end market.

The performance of domestic Chinese manufacturers, such as Honor and Xiaomi, in the high-end market is also noteworthy. These manufacturers, through continuous R&D investment in mobile phone systems, imaging technology, and hardware, have significantly improved the performance and quality of their phones, earning consumer recognition and effectively translating this into sales growth, thereby increasing their market share in the high-end segment. However, to truly establish themselves in the high-end market, these domestic manufacturers still need to make greater efforts.

The high-end smartphone market demands increasingly greater technological innovation. Improvements in hardware R&D capabilities, the proliferation of 5G technology, and the rapid development of artificial intelligence have raised consumer expectations for phone performance and intelligence. Smartphone manufacturers need to increase their investment in these areas to meet the ever-evolving needs of consumers.

Furthermore, domestic Chinese manufacturers need to launch more innovative and differentiated products to meet the diverse needs of consumers, even creating unique product features to enhance user loyalty. Learning from the successful experiences of high-end brands like Apple and Huawei, strengthening brand building and marketing, and enhancing brand image and recognitioncultivating a "high-end" impression of the brand or specific modelsis crucial.

In summary, the competitive landscape of the high-end smartphone market in Q3 2024 is relatively clear: Apple and Huawei occupy leading positions, but the rapid growth of domestic Chinese manufacturers like Honor and Xiaomi is also noteworthy. In the future, technological innovation, brand building, and differentiated competition will be key factors in high-end smartphone market competition. Those who can better grasp market trends and meet the ever-growing needs of consumers will be better positioned for success in future competition.

CES 2025 will open its doors in Las Vegas on January 7th, 2025, and we will continue to monitor and report on the latest industry developments.