Global cumulative shipments of 5G smartphones crossed 2B in less than five years, a faster adoption rate than 3G or 4G; Apple and Samsung together shipped 1B
- Nearly 70% of all 5G shipments came from developed smartphone markets. — Apple and Samsung were the top 5G smartphone brands …
Context & Ripple Effects
Early 5G demand was already concentrating around the leading vendors: Apple held the lead in the early 2021 5G market, even as Samsung’s shipments accelerated. The new cumulative milestone shows that initial momentum translated into broad device volumes.
The milestone also follows a difficult handset backdrop: global smartphone shipments fell in 2023 while Apple moved ahead of Samsung in unit shipments in IDC’s 2023 ranking. That makes the two companies’ combined billion 5G devices a measure of scale within a mature, contested handset market.
First-order effects
- 5G has moved from a premium differentiator to a high-volume smartphone capability, with more than 2 billion cumulative devices shipped in under five years.
- Apple and Samsung account for half of those shipments, while developed markets supplied nearly 70% of total 5G device volume.
Second-order effects
- The two leaders’ installed base gives app, service and accessory partners a large common pool of 5G-capable customers, reinforcing the commercial importance of their smartphone ecosystems.
- Brands seeking to close the gap must compete where 5G adoption is most advanced, while growth outside developed markets remains a key variable for broadening the addressable base.
Third-order effects
- If shipment concentration persists, the 5G transition may deepen the handset leaders’ ecosystem advantages rather than materially redistribute market power among device makers.
- The gap between developed-market adoption and the rest of the market could make the next phase of 5G growth more dependent on affordability and replacement cycles than on first-time availability.
The trend: 5G is becoming the default smartphone platform, but its early installed base is concentrated in developed markets and in the ecosystems led by Apple and Samsung.