Counterpoint: global smartphone revenue grew 5% in 2024, with the iPhone 15 leading sales, followed by the iPhone 15 Pro Max, iPhone 15 Pro, and Galaxy A15 5G
Context & Ripple Effects
This extends a pattern visible in Apple’s sweep of the seven best-selling global phones in 2023, when iPhone models occupied the leading positions and Samsung followed with the remaining top devices.
It also fits the market’s longer shift toward revenue resilience: 2021 smartphone revenue growth was led in part by iPhone revenue, making 2024’s 5% global revenue increase more meaningful than a unit-ranking alone.
First-order effects
- Apple’s iPhone 15 family takes the top three positions in the annual sales ranking, reinforcing the iPhone’s immediate contribution to industry revenue growth.
- Samsung retains a place among the leading models through the Galaxy A15 5G, showing that a mass-market device can still compete for global volume alongside premium iPhones.
Second-order effects
- Rivals face pressure to pair high-volume flagship lineups with credible lower-priced offerings, rather than relying on only one end of the market.
- The split between top-selling iPhones and the Galaxy A15 5G makes product mix—not just total shipments—more central to how brands pursue revenue growth.
Third-order effects
- If this ranking pattern persists, global smartphone economics could become more concentrated around a small number of brands that can sustain both premium pricing and broad-volume portfolios.
- The market may increasingly reward revenue per device and installed-base monetization over shipment share alone, though a single annual ranking cannot establish that shift by itself.
The trend: Smartphone growth is increasingly being shaped by a concentrated set of brands converting flagship demand and selective budget-scale models into revenue growth.