Smartphone makers record highest sales globally

The global smartphone market earned the highest quarterly sales ever in the first quarter of this year. The high popularity of Samsung’s new model, “Galaxy S24,” brought the maker back to the top spot in terms of shipment volume, which was obtained by Apple last year.

According to Counterpoint Research, a global market research firm, on Wednesday, this year’s first quarter global volume of shipment rose by 6 percent to 296.9 million units compared to a year ago. Quarterly sales also increased by seven percent to set a record high during the same period. The segment of premium models worth more than 800 dollars showed a two-digit growth, taking up 18 percent of this first quarter’s shipment volume of smartphones globally.

Regarding shipment volume, Samsung accounted for 20 percent, surpassing Apple's share of 17 percent. The South Korean smartphone maker only took a quarter to reclaim the market's top spot. The top two were followed by Chinese brands such as Xiaomi (14 percent), OPPO (8 percent), and VIVO (7 percent).


Do-Young Kwak now@donga.com