• GenAI-capable smartphones’ share in global smartphone sales increased to 6% in Q1 2024 from just 1.3% in the previous quarter.
• The premium segment contributed over 70% of GenAI-capable smartphone sales in Q1 2024.
• Samsung captured the top three spots and contributed 58% to the segment.
• Chinese OEMs captured six positions in the list of top 10 best-selling GenAI-capable smartphones in Q1 2024.

Seoul, Beijing, Buenos Aires, Fort Collins, Hong Kong, London, New Delhi, San Diego, Taipei, Tokyo – May 30, 2024

GenAI-capable smartphones contributed 6% to global smartphone sales in Q1 2024, a significant increase from just 1.3% in the previous quarter, according to the latest research from Counterpoint’s Global Handset Model Sales Tracker. GenAI capabilities have opened new opportunities for smartphone brands and may potentially drive the market’s growth in the coming years. Premium smartphones (wholesale price >$600) accounted for over 70% of GenAI-capable smartphone sales in Q1. The number of GenAI-capable smartphone models increased from 16 to over 30 during just Q1, indicating brands’ growing interest in this segment.

Samsung’s Galaxy S24 series dominated the GenAI-capable smartphone market in Q1, securing the top three spots in the top-10 list for best-selling GenAI-capable smartphones. The Galaxy S24 Ultra was the best-selling GenAI-capable smartphone, commanding over 30% market share, more than the combined share of the next two smartphones. Samsung's aggressive marketing campaign highlighting the Galaxy S24’s GenAI capabilities, coupled with its established global presence, led the brand to take a 58% share of the GenAI segment. GenAI features like chat/note assist, circle to search, and live translate are gaining traction with users and garnering positive initial reviews.

Chinese brands captured six positions in the top-10 list. The Xiaomi 14 and vivo X100 models ranked fourth and fifth, respectively. Leading Chinese brands like Xiaomi, vivo, HONOR and OPPO are aggressively integrating GenAI features across their offerings, including features like AI-generated portraits, AI eraser tools and robust offline virtual assistants. Chinese brands’ strategy to focus on their home market first has led to China becoming the world’s largest GenAI-capable smartphone market, capturing one-third of the global market.

For 2024, we expect GenAI-capable smartphones to contribute 11% of the overall smartphone market as newer use cases arise and consumer awareness increases around the segment. Media-focused features and personalized virtual assistants are expected to be major drivers of adoption. On the hardware side, more GenAI-capable chipsets from major semiconductor firms at affordable prices will further aid the growth of the segment. We are anticipating the entry of Apple later this year into the GenAI segment with its 2024 iPhone lineup.

Counterpoint Research defines the GenAI smartphone as a mobile device that leverages large-scale, pre-trained generative AI models to create original content or perform contextually-aware tasks. We expect such devices to have multimodal capabilities, allowing them to process text, image, voice and other inputs to generate a variety of output and enable a user experience that is fluid and seamless. We expect the hardware specifications of such devices will likely evolve as the technology advances. But at present, a device should have hardware capabilities that are comparable to or exceed the performance of current flagship smartphones to effectively run generative AI models.

Background

Counterpoint Technology Market Research is a global research firm specializing in products in the TMT (technology, media and telecom) industry. It services major technology and financial firms with a mix of monthly reports, customized projects and detailed analyses of the mobile and technology markets. Its key analysts are seasoned experts in the high-tech industry.

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