The iPhone 15 Pro Max was the most shipped smartphone globally in 1H24, with a total of 21.8 million units according to Omdia’s Smartphone Model Market Tracker – 2Q24. This marks the second consecutive year that the iPhone Pro Max series claimed the top spot following the iPhone 14 Pro Max’s status as the best-selling phone of 2023.
The popularity of the most expensive iPhone continues to rise even amidst a period of extended high inflation. Despite the expectation that inflation would reduce consumer wages, limiting spending, the reverse is happening with more choosing the premium iPhone Pro Max, priced between $1,199 to $1,599, potentially with plans to keep the phone for a longer period.
The standard iPhone 15 ranks behind the 15 Pro Max as the second most popular phone of 2024 so far, with 17.8 million shipments, while the iPhone 15 Pro holds the fourth spot with 16.9 million. The iPhone 15 Plus, however, is the least popular model of the series, with only 3.7 million placing it 28th globally.
With the latest iPhones launching September 20, this trend is expected to continue, with the iPhone 16 Pro Max likely becoming the most popular model. This is despite the standard 16 and 16 Plus receiving significant upgrades compared to their predecessors. Both models will feature the latest A18 chipset – skipping the A17 chipset altogether, having previously used the A16 – enabling them to power the upcoming ‘Apple Intelligence’ AI features.
The third most popular phone is the Samsung Galaxy A15 with 17.3 million shipments in 1H24. Priced at $129, this 4G phone is by far the most popular low-end smartphone and marks an increase from the Samsung Galaxy A14, which recorded 12.4-million-unit shipments in the first half of 2023. The high inflation mentioned earlier has driven some mid-end phones buyers toward the ultra-low and low-end market (under $150), boosting demand for the A15. Meanwhile the 5G variant of this phone, the Samsung Galaxy A15 5G, which costs $199, is the 7th most popular with 12.2 million units.
The new Samsung S24 Ultra, released on January 31, is the fifth most popular smartphone , with 12.6 million units. This surpasses its predecessor, the Galaxy S23 Ultra, which shipped 9.6 million units in 1H23. The success of the latest S24 series may be attributed to Samsung introducing Galaxy AI features for the first time, potentially attracting previous S-series users to upgrade.
The three-year-old iPhone 13 is the sixth most popular with 12.5 million units, interestingly outperforming the iPhone 14 by 1.4-milllion shipments, which is ranked ninth. Priced around $599, the iPhone 13 may serve as the new entry-point into the Apple ecosystem for many mid-end phone users. Previously, this was filled by the iPhone 11, which remained in the top 10 phones globally until this year, despite its 2019 release.
Finally, the eighth and tenth most popular phones are the ultra-low-end Xiaomi 13C and Samsung Galaxy A05, both priced around $80. These models are very similar: both are 4G, feature the same screen resolution, entry-level 4GB RAM, 50MP and 2MP rear cameras, and a 5000mAh battery capacity.
Omdia forecasts that while shipments, which experienced significant growth in the first half of 2024, to decline in the second half of 2024.
“Low-end smartphone shipments have been increasing for more than a year, but this growth is expected to slow down, as pent-up demand from the pandemic is met and economic uncertainty continues. Additionally, there is no growth momentum in the $151-600 mid-end market. The rise of recycled (refurbished & secondhand) devices is limiting new demand growth. Longer smartphone replacement cycles and stagnant smartphone demand in advanced markets are further affecting the mid-end segment. However, the high-end segment (over $600) is anticipated to grow due to steady replacement cycles and new demand from emerging markets. The introduction of on-device generative AI in iPhones and other premium devices, which will also stimulate replacement demand. Nonetheless, this alone will not be sufficient to drive overall shipment growth at a higher rate.” said Jusy Hong, Senior Research Manager at Omdia.
