Q3 smartphone production up 7%, says TrendForce

Global smartphone production reached approximately 310 million units, matching figures from the same period in 2023, but volumes for the quarter have not yet returned to pre-pandemic levels.

In Q4, smartphone production is expected to rise to another 7% quarter on quarter increase, fuelled by Apple’s production peak for its latest models and year-end efforts by Android brands to capture market share.

TrendForce reports that the rankings of the top six global smartphone brands remained unchanged in the third quarter, collectively commanding nearly 80% of the market.

Samsung retained its leading position with a production volume of nearly 59 million units, up 9% QoQ, and a market share of 19%, with growth driven by the mass production of its foldable series and increased stocking of mid-to-low-end A-series models for the holiday season.

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Apple ranked second, with a production volume of approximately 51 million units, a hefty 15% QoQ increase and a 17% market share, and is expected to surpass Samsung in the fourth quarter.

However, the lack of AI-related features of its new devices in the Chinese market, and intense brand competition has seen a year-over-year decline in sales performance in the region.

Xiaomi (including Xiaomi, Redmi, and POCO) maintained third-place position with production reaching 43 million units, up 2% QoQ for 14% market share.

Oppo, Vivo, and Transsion took fourth, fifth and sixth places respectively.

According to TrendForce, the market’s attention is turning to AI-powered smartphones and the research firm says that these devices must support on-device AI computation capabilities, such as machine learning and generative AI.

AI smartphones are predominantly positioned as flagship models and are projected by TrendForce to account for 10% to 15% of total production in 2024.