2024: AI Phones Lead Smartphone Market Rebound, Ushering in a New Era

2024: AI Phones Lead Smartphone Market Rebound, Ushering in a New EraThe smartphone market in 2024 presents a vibrant picture. After years of stagnation, it has finally rebounded

2024: AI Phones Lead Smartphone Market Rebound, Ushering in a New Era

The smartphone market in 2024 presents a vibrant picture. After years of stagnation, it has finally rebounded. Through the third quarter, the global smartphone market has seen year-on-year growth for four consecutive quarters. Full-year shipments are projected to reach 1.22 billion units, a 6% increase. The domestic market shows equally strong recovery, with major manufacturers significantly improving aspects such as design, camera systems, and screen technology. The rise of AI phones has injected new vitality into the fiercely competitive market, marking a new era comparable to the transition from feature phones to smartphones.

AI Phones: From Concept to Market Explosion

While the concept of "AI phones" isn't new, 2024 marks the year AI phones truly transitioned from concept to reality, particularly driven by Chinese manufacturers. Previously, even phones with AI capabilities often limited themselves to superficial features like background removal or image generation functionality readily available through third-party apps.

AI phones have changed this. According to IDC, global smartphone shipments in 2023 reached 1.17 billion units, the lowest in a decade, primarily due to a lack of innovation and underwhelming upgrades failing to stimulate consumer replacements. However, the emergence of AI phones has reversed this trend. IDC predicts that AI phone sales will surpass 170 million units in 2024! Market feedback confirms this, with AI phones rapidly revitalizing the industry. Active device numbers have experienced explosive growth since the first quarter of the year, surging by 131% year-on-year and maintaining steady growth through the third quarter.

Rich AI Functionality in the Android Ecosystem

Huawei Mate60 series, Xiaomi 14 series, and vivo S18/X100 series have been particularly successful, representing the largest market share among AI phone brands. This year, AI features from various manufacturers are deeply integrated into daily life and work scenarios, going beyond simple "candy-like" functions like image and text generation.

For example, vivo's upgraded Atomic Island feature allows users to drag and drop any image or text onto the island, where the system intelligently analyzes the content and provides feedback, quickly enabling image/text search, reminder setting, or purchasing similar items all without switching between multiple apps, offering a true one-stop service. Similar examples include Honor's one-sentence food ordering and Xiaomi's enhanced Xiao Ai assistant. AI has transformed previously less-intelligent voice assistants into true smart phone managers, bringing significant user convenience.

While Apple hasn't yet integrated extensive AI features into its products (related to system and Chinese language support limitations), AI will undoubtedly be a key focus in future smartphone development and R&D investment, adding more practical functionalities.

Flagship Mobile Platform Showdown: Snapdragon vs. Dimensity

While 2024's hardware upgrades can be considered "routine," the competition in core processors remains fierce. Apple's A-series and Huawei's Kirin chips remain dominant in their respective markets, while Qualcomm Snapdragon and MediaTek Dimensity continue their battle for Android supremacy.

This year, both camps have accelerated their processor updates. The Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 uses an aggressive 2+6 architecture with a super core clock speed of 4.32GHz. The Dimensity 9400 employs a more conservative 1+3+4 architecture with a super core clock speed of 3.63GHz.

Flagship models featuring the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, such as the Xiaomi 15 series, iQOO 13, and OnePlus 13, have been released, showcasing powerful performance. The OnePlus 13 and iQOO 13, focusing on performance, easily handle demanding games like Genshin Impact, Tower of Fantasy, and Honkai: Star Rail, achieving full frame rate without issue. The iQOO 13 further enhances the gaming experience with its self-developed Q2 chip, offering PC-level graphics and 144Hz frame interpolation.

Dimensity 9400 powered devices include the OPPO Find X8 series, vivo X200 series, and iQOO Neo10 Pro, focusing on imaging capabilities while maintaining good performance. It's noteworthy that manufacturer tuning plays a crucial role. Vivo's tuning of Dimensity chips has gained widespread recognition, proving that "Vivo's Dimensity tuning is top-notch." The vivo X200 series and iQOO Neo10 Pro outperform other models on the same platform in certain scenarios.

Imaging Upgrades: The Perfect Blend of Telephoto and Algorithms

In imaging, recent years have seen competition focused on megapixel counts and low-light performance. In 2024, manufacturers have shifted their focus to telephoto capabilities.

For example, the OPPO Find X8/X8 Pro prioritize capturing moments, with the standard version using a LYT600 telephoto lens (comparable to IMX881), while the Pro version features a dual periscope design with LYT600 and IMX858. The Xiaomi 15 series retains the previous generation's image sensor, primarily upgrading the Pro version with an IMX858 telephoto lens. The vivo X200 series uses an IMX882 telephoto lens in its standard version and a 1/1.4-inch 200-megapixel telephoto lens, the same as the previous generation's Ultra model, in its Pro version.

To achieve superior telephoto capabilities, especially at ultra-long distances, manufacturers utilize AI-powered large model image enhancement. For example, the vivo X200 Pro uses algorithms to enhance image quality at 20x zoom and beyond, resulting in clearer images.

Beyond telephoto, AI features like AI upscaling, AI styles, and expression correction are increasingly integrated into various shooting modes, seamlessly blending into daily life. AI significantly improves computational photography algorithms, delivering both beautiful and realistic images.

Enhanced Video Recording Capabilities for Android Phones

In video recording, 2024 has seen breakthroughs in Chinese-made phones. For example, the vivo X200 Pro's custom LYT818 sensor significantly reduces power consumption, maintaining excellent performance even during extended high-load shooting. This allows it to support 4K 120FPS and full-focal-length 4K 60fps 10-bit Log video recording. Combined with its 200-megapixel telephoto lens and Blue Sky Imaging algorithm, the vivo X200 Pro achieves 10x optical zoom video recording, rivaling the iPhone 16 Pro's capabilities.

The iPhone 16 series' biggest change is a dedicated physical camera control button, which, while not significantly improving shooting experience, provides an interface for future AI functions. This design has been quickly adopted by Chinese manufacturers like OPPO Find X8 series and Nubia Z70 Ultra, influencing the industry's future direction.

The Return and Rise of Screens: Straight and Slightly Curved Screens Prevail

A few years ago, curved screens were prevalent for enhanced aesthetics. However, this year, manufacturers like Xiaomi, vivo, and OPPO have mostly returned to straight screens or adopted gently curved screens.

Xiaomi 15 series uses straight screens, offering high user acceptance and lower costs, highly popular in mid-to-low-end and performance-focused models. Straight screens prevent accidental touches and offer better gaming experiences, maintaining a loyal following.

In the high-end flagship market, advancements in the supply chain have enabled the use of gently curved screens in models such as the Xiaomi 15 Pro, vivo X200 Pro, and Huawei Mate 70 Pro, creating an almost borderless visual effect, enhancing premium feel while mitigating accidental touches and managing costs effectively.

Furthermore, smaller phones are making a comeback. Alongside the Xiaomi 15 series, vivo released the X200 Pro mini, a small-screen phone that performed well during Double Eleven. The vivo X200 Pro mini boasts a 6.31-inch display while featuring the Dimensity 9400 processor and a Zeiss imaging system, without compromising specifications.

High-density battery technology breakthroughs are also crucial for the resurgence of smaller phones. Advances like Xiaomi's Jin Sha Jiang battery, vivo/iQOO's Lan Hai battery, and OnePlus' Ice Crystal battery address battery life concerns. Coupled with increasingly refined internal designs, small-screen phones are poised to maintain their "small but beautiful" appeal.

OPPO and OnePlus also plan to release small-screen phones with Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, around 6.3 inches.

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