Kantar’s ComTech Q3 2024 Smartphone Operating System (OS) data revealed that global sales volumes were largely flat, dropping -2% year on year, with the decline driven by weaker demand in China and Japan.
According to Kantar, the Q3 report registered strong growth in smartphone sales in the US (+21%), Europe’s top five markets (+13%) and Australia (+19%), while China (-23%) and Japan (-16%) pulled the overall global sales volume back to slightly less than the corresponding quarter in 2023.
Apple had a strong Q3 and its iPhone 15 series continues to be the most popular smartphone range globally, while Samsung remains the top-selling Android brand, despite losing sales share across all markets.
Domestic brand Sharp overtook Google Pixel as the top seller in Japan and Huawei reclaimed its position as the top selling brand in China for the first time in over three years.
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In Australia, where smartphone sales surged by 19% compared to Q3 2023, Android phones led the way with a 5% jump in sales share, while iPhone share dropped by -6% but retained the top selling smartphone title.
Meanwhile, Apple has officially entered the artificial intelligence race with the launch of its Apple Intelligence brand.
On 28 October, Apple released its first wave of Apple Intelligence features, which include email and notification summarisations, photo cleanup (providing the ability to remove objects from images), and a smarter, more conversational Siri.
Kantar says Apple is adopting a cautious approach to its AI roll-out, prioritising security and responsibility – with full acknowledgement it’s at least a decade-long endeavour.
This is in direct contrast to Google Pixel, which has been heavily leveraging AI in its Pixel 9 Series launch and throughout its US sponsorship of the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.
This is reflected in consumer behaviour with 12% of Google Pixel buyers citing AI as a key reason why they chose their phone vs 5% of the market average (statistically significant at 95% confidence interval).
“Despite Pixel consumers stating AI as a key reason for choosing their phone, there has been no discernible uplift in Google Pixel sales share compared to the previous year," Jack Hamlin, Global Consumer Insights Director at Worldpanel Division, Kantar, said.
"This suggests that while AI features help retain consumers within a brand ecosystem, they may not necessarily drive new sales.”
