With the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas stabilizing the situation in the Middle East and the US' active intervention to mediate the Russia-Ukraine war after the Trump administration took office, regional political and economic risks have been effectively reduced, relatively reviving global consumer demand.
According to DIGITIMES, global smartphone shipments reached 334.4 million units in the fourth quarter of 2024, reflecting a year-on-year growth of 2.4%. Looking ahead to the first quarter of 2025, the global smartphone market demand continues to recover, with an estimated year-on-year shipment increase of 4.1%.
Compared to estimates made in November, DIGITIMES adjusted its total global smartphone shipments for 2024 to 1.19 billion units, raising the number by 7.5 million units. This upward adjustment is primarily due to better-than-expected shipments from Xiaomi, Honor, and Transsion in the fourth quarter.
Chart 1: Key factors affecting 4Q24 and 1Q25 smartphone shipments in China and non-China markets
Chart 3: Shipments in China and non-China markets, 3Q23-1Q25 (m units)
Chart 6: Shipments in China and non-China markets, 2022-2024 (m units)
Chart 8: Global 5G smartphone shipments and share, 2021-2024 (m units)
Chart 9: 5G smartphone shipments by China and non-China markets, 2022-2024 (m units)
Chart 10: Global foldable phone shipments and share, 2021-2024 (m units)
Chart 11: Global foldable smartphone shipments by top brands, 2022-2024 (m units)
