Apple maintains US market share as smartphone demand continues to weaken

Delays over Apple's iPhone 14 saw its sales boost come late, which has now affected yearly comparisons

New research claims that US smartphone shipments have declined 8% year over year, yet Apple's iPhone has stayed steady at 52% of the market.

Even if 52% of the market really does not constitute a monopoly, figures from Counterpoint Research say the market is shrinking. As well as the 8% drop between Q1 2023 and Q1 2024, the US smartphone market has now declined for six consecutive quarters.

However, one reason for the latest quarter's decline is that there was a significant sales difference in the same period in 2023 because of a difficult 2022 holiday season, supply-wise. The iPhone 14 range that was launched in 2022 had been hit by COVID-related production delays, so it saw its main sales later than usual.

Graph showing US smartphone market share by OEM for Q1 2023 and Q1 2024 with colored segments for different manufacturers.

Comparing smartphone sales in 2023 and 2024 (Source: Counterpoint)

Counterpoint says this accounts for most of the 8% decline. But it also attributes some of the decline to pressures in the sub-$300 part of the market, where sales of Android phones dropped.

That said, Android-maker Samsung saw its best Q1 in four years. The company grew its market share to 31% on the back of the launch of its Galaxy S24 smartphone series.

Looking ahead to the rest of 2024, Counterpoint analysts believe that a recovery in the market won't take place until at least Q3. That's when new models of smartphone, most notably Apple's iPhone 16 which is may see a boost in sales from AI features.