The global smartphone market shipped 320.1 million units in Q3, a three percent year-on-year increase driven by strong growth in Asia-Pacific and emerging economies, according to Omdia.
APAC grew five percent year-on-year, the highest quarterly volume since Q4 2021, driven by robust sales in multiple countries. This contrasts with declines in North America and Greater China, where market challenges persisted.
After a slow start to the year due to uncertainties and supply chain changes, the market rebounded strongly in Q3 with key players such as Samsung, Apple, Transsion, and Lenovo seeing significant shipment gains.
Samsung led the market with 60.6 million units shipped, boosted by its Galaxy A series’ strong performance in APAC and the Middle East.
Apple saw a four percent shipment increase, driven by strong demand for its iPhone 17 models and rising interest in emerging markets including India.
Xiaomi’s one-percent shipment growth to 43.4 million units, driven by growth in APAC and other regions helped offset declines in China,
Transsion and Vivo expanded their presence in APAC and other emerging regions.
Despite ongoing component shortages and rising costs, vendors are adopting strategies to prioritise profitability through channel funding and focusing on high-margin devices.
The market shows polarised growth with expansion at both ultra-low-end and high-end segments, while the mid-range remains weak. Vendors are balancing their portfolios to navigate cost pressures and supply chain challenges to sustain growth.
“Vendors may adopt different strategies to tackle this common challenge — securing channel funding early, prioritising high-margin models, keeping mid- and low-end devices on a defensive stance, and leveraging scaling to strengthen supply chain bargaining power. Regardless, maintaining profitability remains their shared top priority,” said Jusy Hong, Senior Research Manager of Omdia.
Entelechy Asia 