(By Tang Penji, Edited by Lyu Dong)
On April 15, Canalys released the Global Smartphone Shipment Report for the first quarter of 2025. The data shows that the overall market environment for the global smartphone industry was more turbulent than expected in the first quarter of 2025, with a year-on-year growth of 1%. The同期data from market research companies IDC and Counterpoint were 1.5% and 3%, respectively, all showing single-digit growth.
According to the ranking released by Counterpoint, Apple topped the global market in the first quarter (with a share of 19%). Although sales remained flat or declined in the US, Europe, and China, Apple achieved double-digit growth in Japan, India, the Middle East and Africa, as well as Southeast Asia; Samsung, Xiaomi, vivo, and OPPO all ranked among the top five. At the same time, brands such as Honor, Huawei, and Lenovo Motorola showed impressive growth rates; Huawei became the largest vendor in the Chinese market, while Honor and Motorola achieved rapid growth in multiple markets.
Canalys
The growth in the first quarter was mainly driven by strong demand recovery in emerging markets, especially in the Asia-Pacific, Latin America, and Middle Eastern regions. China's subsidy policies also effectively stimulated consumer demand, but mature markets like the US and Europe showed signs of fatigue. The global market still faces a series of challenges including macroeconomic downturn pressure, rising trade risks, weak consumer confidence, and delayed channel inventory shipments.
Research institutions have pointed out that Trump's tariff policies have brought high uncertainty to manufacturers. Currently, manufacturers like Apple are shipping products in large quantities in advance, especially for the US market, to mitigate potential cost increases and avoid supply chain disruption risks.
IDC believes that this has led to shipment volumes exceeding the levels expected based on underlying consumer demand. Canalys points out that manufacturers and their supply chain partners are accelerating the implementation of diversified supply chain strategies, which will continue to impact industry profitability and extend the planning cycle for the global smartphone industry.
Sanyam Chaurasia, Senior Analyst at Canalys, stated: "Affected by global macroeconomic challenges, consumer sentiment remains cautious, suppressing seasonal growth that should have occurred in the first quarter. Even during key holiday periods such as Ramadan in key markets, demand was below expectations. Faced with slow recovery in shipments, manufacturers are focusing on improving profitability while maintaining enthusiasm and flexibility in market investment. Specific strategies include dynamic channel incentive programs to drive shipments, collaborating with distributors to expand financing support in emerging markets, and flexible channel pricing strategies to balance profitability and price competitiveness."
Different from Counterpoint, IDC's data shows that Samsung, Apple, and Xiaomi ranked in the top three in the global mobile phone market in the first quarter. Although Samsung's shipment speed was slower at the beginning of 2025, its sales quickly rebounded with the release of the S25 series flagship and A series, achieving double-digit growth in March. Among them, the share of the "Ultra" model in the S25 series increased.
Apple benefited from the launch of its entry-level iPhone 16e and continuous expansion in emerging markets, performing strongly in markets such as Japan, India, and the Middle East. Meanwhile, to avoid tariffs, Apple pre-stocked in the US market, and channel partners shipped large quantities to other regions due to concerns about supply chain disruptions, resulting in the highest quarterly shipment volume in history. Despite weak sales in the US and Europe and continued decline in the Chinese market, its overall market share remained stable.
IDC
Xiaomi had strong sales momentum and ranked third. According to Counterpoint, Xiaomi significantly enhanced its brand influence in the domestic market through expanded investments in the electric vehicle sector. IDC believes that the "national subsidy" policy positively impacted the sales of Xiaomi's mid-range products, driving significant growth in its Chinese market. IDC's data shows that in the first quarter of 2025, Xiaomi accounted for 18.6% of the Chinese smartphone market with a year-on-year increase of 39.9%, ranking first.
Vivo performed strongly in international emerging markets, driven by mid-to-low-end product promotions, thanks to the "national subsidy" policy, with a year-on-year growth of approximately 6%.
Although OPPO continued to grow in China thanks to the "national subsidy" policy and also saw growth in India, Latin America, and Europe, it still faced significant competitive pressure in international markets, with a slight decline in market share.
Comparison of smartphone vendor sales shares for the first quarters of 2023, 2024, and 2025 - Counterpoint
IDC's data shows that smartphone shipments in the Chinese market continued the growth trend of the past five quarters in the first quarter of 2025, with a year-on-year growth of 3.3%, reaching 71.6 million units. The main drivers of growth were the Chinese government's "national subsidy" policy and the Spring Festival sales peak. However, IDC points out that the Chinese smartphone market will still face pressure from international geopolitical and macroeconomic environments in 2025.
This institution's report shows that Xiaomi, Huawei, OPPO, vivo, and Apple ranked in the top five in China, with Apple seeing a significant drop in shipments of 9%, making it the only vendor in the top five to see a decline.
IDC
In general, although the global smartphone market saw an increase in shipments in the first quarter of 2025, Counterpoint also maintained a stable long-term outlook. However, the institution stated that economic uncertainties may lead consumers to delay upgrades, coupled with rising trade risks and supply chain fluctuations, putting pressure on the market outlook. Although new technologies such as Gen AI and foldable screens will continue to develop, smartphone brand vendors need to carefully assess demand trends. Although the long-term outlook remains stable, it is expected that the smartphone market will experience a year-on-year decline in 2025.
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Original source: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7493703641205539362/
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