Apple had the highest global smartphone shipments in calendar year 2024, according to IDC and Omdia. IDC estimated that Apple shipped 232.1 million smartphones worldwide, compared with 223.4 million for Samsung. Omdia reached the same broad conclusion, estimating 225.9 million Apple shipments versus 222.9 million Samsung shipments.
There is an important qualification: Counterpoint’s 2024 estimate of sell-through—phones reaching end users through retail and carrier channels—ranked Samsung first, with 19% of global volume versus Apple’s 18%. So the best single answer is Apple by the usual annual shipment measure; Samsung is the leader under Counterpoint’s estimated consumer-sales methodology.
The answer depends on what sales means
For this comparison, the relevant scope is worldwide smartphone activity from January 1 through December 31, 2024. It excludes feature phones and should not be confused with a company’s fiscal-year revenue.
Market researchers use several different measurements:
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| Measurement | 2024 leader | What it measures |
|---|---|---|
| Global annual shipments | Apple, according to IDC and Omdia | New phones moving from manufacturers into commercial channels |
| Global sell-through volume | Samsung, according to Counterpoint | Estimated phones purchased through retail or carrier channels by end users |
| Global smartphone revenue | Apple, according to Counterpoint-reported figures | Money generated by smartphone hardware, not the number of phones |
| Best-selling individual model | iPhone 15, according to Counterpoint | Sales of one phone model rather than the entire brand |
These are different questions, not necessarily competing answers. A brand can ship the most units, generate the most revenue, and have the best-selling individual model—or those results can be split among several companies.
IDC and Omdia both put Apple first by annual shipments
The clearest shipment-based answer comes from two major market trackers. Their totals are not identical, but both place Apple narrowly ahead of Samsung for the full year.
| Research firm | Measurement | Apple | Samsung | Estimated total market | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| IDC | Worldwide shipments | 232.1 million 18.7% share |
223.4 million 18.0% share |
1.2388 billion | Apple |
| Omdia | Worldwide shipments | 225.9 million | 222.9 million | 1.2231 billion | Apple |
IDC’s estimate gives Apple an 8.7 million-unit lead over Samsung. Omdia’s estimate shows a much smaller 3.0 million-unit gap. The difference between those two Apple-versus-Samsung gaps is a reminder that these are independent market estimates, not a single audited global census of every phone sold.
IDC estimated that the overall market grew 6.4% in 2024 to 1.2388 billion shipments. Omdia estimated 7.1% growth to 1.2231 billion shipments. Both figures describe a market recovery after two consecutive years of decline, although the firms’ different totals and growth rates should not be combined into one dataset.
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Why Counterpoint ranked Samsung first
Counterpoint’s 2024 Market Pulse used a different framework. It reported Samsung as the global leader by estimated sell-through volume, with a 19% share, followed by Apple at 18%.
Sell-through is intended to capture phones moving through retail and carrier channels to end users. Shipments, by contrast, generally capture phones moving from manufacturers into distributors, carriers, retailers, or other commercial channels. Neither label should automatically be treated as a complete count of cash-register transactions.
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A simple timing example explains why the rankings can diverge. A manufacturer could ship a large batch of phones to a distributor in December, while consumers do not purchase those phones until January. A shipment tracker may assign the units to the manufacturer’s 2024 total; a sell-through tracker may count the eventual consumer purchase in a different period. Inventory levels, channel timing, data sources, country estimates, and classification rules can all affect the annual result.
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That does not prove that channel timing alone caused the Apple-Samsung difference. It is one reason shipment and sell-through datasets can produce different leaders. Counterpoint’s public summary also rounds its shares to whole percentages, so 19% versus 18% should be described as a narrow Samsung lead, not an overwhelming victory.
Why reputable trackers do not report the same totals
IDC, Omdia, Counterpoint, Canalys, and TechInsights are separate research firms. They do not publish one official industry ledger, and their estimates can differ because they use different:
- Definitions of shipments, sell-through, and sales.
- Retail, carrier, distributor, and manufacturer data sources.
- Methods for handling inventory and shipments near the end of a quarter or year.
- Country coverage and estimation procedures.
- Brand, subsidiary, and parent-company classifications.
- Revision schedules and rounding practices.
IDC’s published methodology describes its figures as branded device shipments and excludes refurbished units. It also groups subsidiaries under their current parent company or holding company. IDC says market shares within 0.1 percentage point should be treated as a statistical tie. Its methodology is explained in the IDC smartphone market-share definitions.
TechInsights illustrates the effect of rounding. Its alternative 2024 shipment ranking put Samsung and Apple at approximately 18% each, making the race effectively too close to call from the rounded public shares alone. That result does not overturn IDC’s more precise unit estimate; it shows why rounded percentages should not be treated as exact unit totals. See TechInsights’ 2024 market analysis.
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Annual leadership is not determined by a single quarter. Product-launch timing gives the two brands different seasonal advantages:
- Samsung benefits early in the year from launches such as the Galaxy S series. The Galaxy S24 launch helped Samsung in the first part of 2024.
- Apple typically receives a major boost late in the year after launching the new iPhone generation.
IDC’s fourth-quarter figures show the effect. Apple led Q4 2024 with 76.9 million shipments and a 23.2% share, compared with Samsung’s 51.7 million shipments and 15.6% share. Counterpoint also reported Apple as the Q4 leader, with 23% versus Samsung’s 16%.
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The quarterly figures come from IDC’s full-year release and Counterpoint’s global market-share data. Apple’s strong holiday quarter helped its full-year shipment result, but it should not be used as a substitute for the full January-to-December comparison.
Apple also led smartphone revenue
If the question is about money rather than units, Apple is the clearer winner. Figures reported by Notebookcheck, citing Counterpoint data, put Apple at approximately 46% of global smartphone revenue in 2024.
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Revenue and unit rankings measure different commercial outcomes. A premium smartphone priced at $1,000 and a budget smartphone priced at $150 each count as one unit, but they contribute very different amounts of hardware revenue. Apple’s premium-heavy product mix, relatively high iPhone average selling prices, and demand for Pro and Pro Max models help explain its revenue lead.
The revenue figure should not be presented as an audited Apple total, and it should not be used to prove that Apple led every unit-sales methodology. Smartphone revenue comparisons may also exclude or separately treat services and accessories. Apple’s fiscal-year financial reporting is not the same as a calendar-year market-tracker ranking, so the two should not be mixed.
The iPhone 15 was the best-selling individual smartphone model
Brand rankings and model rankings answer different questions. Apple’s entire iPhone lineup ranked first as a brand under IDC and Omdia’s shipment estimates, while Counterpoint’s Global Handset Model Sales Tracker identified the iPhone 15 as the world’s best-selling individual smartphone model in 2024.
Samsung placed four models in Counterpoint’s annual top 10, and the Galaxy S24 Ultra was the first Galaxy S-series model to appear in that annual list since 2018.
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Xiaomi and other Chinese brands were major parts of the story
Apple and Samsung remained the two largest global vendors, but Chinese brands captured much of the market’s incremental growth in 2024. Xiaomi was the clearest example.
- IDC estimated Xiaomi shipped 168.5 million smartphones, giving it a 13.6% global share and 15.4% year-over-year growth.
- Omdia estimated Xiaomi shipments at 168.6 million and also reported 15.4% growth.
IDC said Chinese brands drove much of the industry’s growth, particularly through low-end and mid-range phones, expansion in China and emerging markets, promotions, financing, and broader price coverage. This means the 2024 market story was not simply Apple versus Samsung: the two leaders were closely matched at the top while Xiaomi and other Chinese vendors gained from the market recovery.
Global leadership changed by country
A worldwide ranking does not identify the leader in every country. Local pricing, distribution, carrier relationships, regulations, brand preferences, and product availability can produce very different results.
Mainland China
Canalys data reported by Light Reading put vivo first in mainland China for 2024 annual shipments, with 49.3 million units and a 17% share. Huawei ranked second with 46.0 million units. Apple ranked third for the full year, although Apple led the Chinese market in the fourth quarter.
India
In India, vivo led unit shipment volume, while Apple led by market value, according to Counterpoint’s India tracking. The distinction is especially important in a price-sensitive market: a company can ship fewer phones but capture more value by selling a larger share of premium devices. The relevant shipment discussion appears in Counterpoint’s India tracker, with the volume-versus-value result also reported by Gadgets 360.
United States
The United States should also be treated as a separate market rather than as a proxy for the world. For example, Counterpoint’s Q2 2024 U.S. shipment snapshot gave Apple a 52% share and Samsung 24%. That is a quarterly country result, not proof of the global full-year ranking. Counterpoint’s U.S. data is available through its U.S. smartphone market-share tracker.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Brand, company, and product-family rankings are not identical
Market reports often use company, vendor, OEM, and brand as if they were interchangeable. They are not always comparing the same organizational units.
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- IDC can report subsidiaries under their current parent company or holding company.
- OPPO figures may include OnePlus in some trackers and may be separated in others.
- Transsion may be reported as one company encompassing Tecno, Infinix, and itel.
- BBK-related brands may be grouped together by one tracker and reported separately by another.
- Samsung is generally treated as one primary smartphone brand.
- Apple’s iPhone is a single, concentrated brand family rather than a collection of separately branded smartphone businesses.
For Apple and Samsung, this classification issue is less disruptive than it is for some Chinese groups, but it still matters when comparing rankings across research firms. Before comparing figures, check whether the table is ranking consumer-facing brands, parent companies, OEM groups, or individual product families.
How to state the 2024 result accurately
The most defensible wording depends on the question being asked:
| If the question means… | Use this answer | Important qualification |
|---|---|---|
| Worldwide annual unit shipments | Apple | IDC and Omdia both ranked Apple first, narrowly ahead of Samsung. |
| Phones purchased by end users | Samsung | Counterpoint’s estimated global sell-through ranked Samsung first at 19% versus Apple’s 18%. |
| Global smartphone revenue | Apple | Counterpoint-reported figures put Apple at approximately 46% of revenue; this is not a unit ranking. |
| Best-selling individual phone model | iPhone 15 | Counterpoint’s model tracker, not the brand-level shipment tables, produced this result. |
| A specific country | It varies | Vivo led mainland China and India by unit volume, while Apple led India by value. |
When a source says Apple or Samsung was the 2024 leader without defining its metric, look for three details: whether the figures are shipments or sell-through, whether they cover the full calendar year or only a quarter, and whether they describe worldwide activity or one country.
Frequently Asked Questions
Did Apple sell more smartphones than Samsung in 2024?
It depends on the measurement. IDC and Omdia estimated that Apple shipped more smartphones globally during calendar year 2024. Counterpoint’s estimated sell-through measure, intended to represent phones reaching end users, ranked Samsung first. Neither result should be described without naming the methodology.
Was the iPhone 15 the best-selling smartphone of 2024?
Yes, Counterpoint’s Global Handset Model Sales Tracker identified the iPhone 15 as the best-selling individual smartphone model worldwide in 2024. That is a model-level result and is separate from the total brand ranking.
Does Apple’s revenue lead mean it sold the most phones?
No. Apple’s approximately 46% global smartphone revenue share, as reported from Counterpoint data, reflects its premium product mix and higher average selling prices. Revenue and unit volume are different measures.
Who was the biggest smartphone brand in China and India in 2024?
Vivo led annual unit shipments in both mainland China and India according to the cited market-tracking reports. Apple ranked third in mainland China for the full year and led India by market value rather than unit volume.
The Bottom Line
Bottom line: If highest smartphone sales means the standard worldwide calendar-year shipment ranking, Apple was the 2024 leader: IDC estimated 232.1 million shipments versus Samsung’s 223.4 million, and Omdia independently also put Apple first. If sales means estimated phones reaching consumers, Counterpoint ranked Samsung first. Apple led global smartphone revenue and the iPhone 15 was the best-selling individual model, but those are separate measures.
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