The smartphone segment is finally in the green as the demand for new AI-powered phones seem to have catapulted in the stagnant industry. Samsung has been one of the first movers in the AI arena with the Galaxy S24 series powered by the Galaxy AI features. And its definite roll out has aided in its rise to the top of the global smartphone charts as highlighted by multiple industry analyst reports.
The overall growth of 6 percent might not sound like a lot but smartphone brands can now push with a renewed impetus as the demand for new models has got the market excited once again.
AI Smartphones To Lead The Way?
Industry analysts are quietly optimistic of how the market is going to grow in the next few quarters. The focus on AI for smartphones does seem premature as we are yet to see full-thronged assault in the segment.
“There is lots of excitement in the smartphone market today thanks to higher average selling prices (ASPs) and the buzz created by Gen AI smartphones, which are expected to grow faster than any mobile innovation we have seen to date,” as IDC mentions in its latest industry report.
Apple has given us a teaser of how AI is going to function in its ecosystem and the market is excited to see how that shapes the demand and sales of the upcoming iPhone 16 series this year.
IDC expects the AI-powered phone segment to capture 19 percent of the market with 234 million shipments this year which is an ambitious estimate but largely banking on the big-ticket launches from Apple, Google and Samsung.
What AI Brings To Your Phones
Most of the AI features focus on tools like summarising articles/stories, helping people transcribe their recorded audio files or create AI-generated images among others.
The fact that Samsung has led the market for up to Q2 2024 clearly shows the need for other brands to launch their AI offerings, to tempt more people to make the upgrade. Brands like Realme, Oppo and OnePlus to some extent have shown their cards but Xiaomi’s absence ought to be rectified in the coming months.
Apple’s case will be strengthened when the iPhone 16 series launches but others will need to make a stronger case for buyers to consider their products, especially if they are not packing AI goodies in their upcoming devices.
“We expect revenues to grow faster than sales driven by the premiumization across regions, especially with the rise of newer form factors and capabilities, like foldables and GenAI,” Counterpoint Research shares this point in its report. The other interesting factor around AI phones is that most of them feature in the premium category.
This means brands have a greater incentive to push the technology into their devices as it enables them to attain higher revenues even if the sales aren’t that promising, something that Apple has done over the last few years.
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