Apple in 2024: iPhone Sales Reign Supreme, Apple Intelligence Ushers in the AI Era

Apple in 2024: iPhone Sales Reign Supreme, Apple Intelligence Ushers in the AI Era2024 saw Apple solidify its dominance in the hardware market while aggressively entering the artificial intelligence arena with remarkable success. The year witnessed Apple not only retaining its position as the global leader in smartphone sales thanks to the robust performance of its iPhone lineup, but also launching the highly anticipated AI product, Apple Intelligence, marking its official entry into the AI field and opening a new chapter

Apple in 2024: iPhone Sales Reign Supreme, Apple Intelligence Ushers in the AI Era

2024 saw Apple solidify its dominance in the hardware market while aggressively entering the artificial intelligence arena with remarkable success. The year witnessed Apple not only retaining its position as the global leader in smartphone sales thanks to the robust performance of its iPhone lineup, but also launching the highly anticipated AI product, Apple Intelligence, marking its official entry into the AI field and opening a new chapter.

iPhone 16 Series: Sales and Innovation Converge

The much-anticipated iPhone 16 series launched in September 2024. While the market performance of the iPhone 16 Plus sparked some debate, Apple still offered four models iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, iPhone 16 Pro, and iPhone 16 Pro Max catering to diverse user needs.

The iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus inherited the solid-state buttons from the previous Pro series and featured a redesigned vertical rear camera module, significantly enhancing their aesthetic appeal. The Pro series, meanwhile, focused on performance and battery life upgrades, delivering a smoother user experience and extended battery endurance.

Notably, the entire iPhone 16 lineup incorporated a new camera control system. This system enabled quick camera launch, simplifying photo and video capture. Users could utilize a new camera preview function for framing and adjusting zoom, exposure, and depth of field. Furthermore, developers could integrate camera control functionality into various third-party applications, expanding its application scenarios and possibilities.

The success of the iPhone 16 series directly translated into Apple's market share. Apple ranked second in global smartphone sales in Q1, Q2, and Q3 of 2024. However, in Q4, fueled by strong sales, Apple surpassed Samsung to claim the top spot, achieving annual sales of 232.1 million units. This marked the second consecutive year Apple outperformed Samsung as the world's leading smartphone vendor.

IDC data confirmed Apple's achievement as the number one global smartphone seller in 2024. This success validated the iPhone 16 series' performance and Apple's strong competitive standing. It's noteworthy that although overall iPhone shipments dropped 3% year-over-year, Counterpoint Research reported that the strong performance of the Pro series drove overall revenue growth, with the average selling price exceeding $900, a new record. This demonstrates the significant success of Apple's high-end market strategy and highlights its leading position in the premium smartphone sector.

Apple CEO Tim Cook stated during the earnings call that Q1 2025 (Q4 2024) was Apple's best quarter ever, with revenue reaching $124.3 billion, a 4% year-over-year increase, including $69.1 billion in iPhone revenue. Furthermore, active installed devices across all Apple products and markets hit an all-time high, exceeding 2.35 billion globally. These figures clearly illustrate Apple's strong brand influence and stable user base.

iOS 18: The Vehicle for Apple Intelligence

Beyond hardware success, Apple's software advancements deserve attention. Early 2024 saw rampant speculation about Apple abandoning its car project, with many automotive engineers reportedly transferred to the AI department to work on generative AI. This move was widely interpreted as Apple's strategic, full-scale commitment to the AI field.

At the WWDC 2024 in June, Apple officially unveiled Apple Intelligence, an AI-powered intelligent system integrated into iPhones, iPads, and Macs, offering a wide range of functionalities. The core of Apple Intelligence lies in integrating OpenAI's ChatGPT technology into Siri and system-level writing tools.

iOS 18, iPadOS 18, and macOS Sequoia incorporated new system-level writing tools to enhance user writing efficiency. Siri also underwent a significant upgrade, featuring a new icon and markedly improved comprehension. It can adapt to personal contexts and support cross-application operations, providing a more convenient and intelligent user experience. The highly anticipated call recording feature was also implemented in iOS 18.

While Apple Intelligence currently only supports American English, Apple plans to expand language support in the iOS 18.4 update scheduled for April 2025, potentially including Chinese. To cater to the Chinese market, Apple is actively collaborating with domestic AI model companies as potential replacements for ChatGPT to power Apple Intelligence.

Previous reports suggested communication with Baidu, Alibaba, and Baichuan Intelligent. Subsequent leaks indicated a potential partnership with Baidu's AI model. However, towards the end of 2024, sources revealed that Apple was in talks with Tencent and ByteDance to integrate their AI models into iPhones sold in China, although negotiations were still in the early stages. The ultimate choice of partner remains a significant point of interest.

Services Revenue: Continued Growth

Apple's 2024 success extended beyond hardware sales, with its services revenue demonstrating significant growth. In 2024, services revenue reached $26.3 billion, a 14% increase from $23 billion the previous year. This indicates that Apple is also performing exceptionally well outside its hardware products, demonstrating the continuous expansion of its services ecosystem.

Conclusion

2024 saw Apple achieve remarkable accomplishments in both hardware and software. The strong sales of the iPhone 16 series solidified Apple's leadership in the smartphone market, while the introduction of Apple Intelligence marked Apple's official entry into the AI field, beginning a new chapter of development. The continued growth in the services sector showcased Apple's robust profitability and diversified development strategy. 2024 was a year full of challenges and opportunities for Apple, and with the further development and refinement of Apple Intelligence, Apple will possess even stronger competitiveness in future technological competition.