Smartphone Sales Climb Thanks to Markdowns and AI

iPhone sales stabilized in the second quarter amid growth in the broader smartphone market. New data released Monday (July 15) by IDC shows a 6.5% increase in global smartphone shipments, while Counterpoint Research — published Monday as well — found a 6% increase in phone sales to consumers. “Apple’s momentum in Q2 improved significantly from […]

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iPhone sales stabilized in the second quarter amid growth in the broader smartphone market.

New data released Monday (July 15) by IDC shows a 6.5% increase in global smartphone shipments, while Counterpoint Research — published Monday as well — found a 6% increase in phone sales to consumers.

“Apple’s momentum in Q2 improved significantly from the negative growth they saw in the first quarter,” said IDC research director Nabila Popal. “This is in part due to heavy discounts and promotions in many regions, but also thanks to renewed customer confidence after WWDC when Apple finally announced its AI strategy.”

Both reports placed Samsung in the top spot in terms of smartphone shipments and market share, with Apple in second place.

“Apple’s global sales remained flat but recorded strong YoY growth in Europe and Latin America, which compensated for the low upgrade rates in the U.S. and share loss in China following Huawei’s rise,” the Counterpoint report said.

“However, Apple saw improvement in sales in China during the 618 shopping festival where it offered attractive discounts. In H2, the new iPhones with Apple Intelligence are expected to drive upgrade demand.”

The reports follow research last week from IDC showing the market for personal computers (PCs) turning around after several quarters of decline. It was a trend, the research said, driven partially by demand for AI-powered computers.

“Make no mistake, the PC market just like other technology markets faces challenges in the near term due to maturity and headwinds,” Ryan Reith, group vice president with IDC’s Worldwide Device Trackers, said in a news release.

“However, two consecutive quarters of growth, combined with plenty of market hype around AI PCs and a less sexy but arguably more important commercial refresh cycle, seems to be what the PC market needed. The buzz is clearly around AI, but a lot is happening with non-AI PC purchasing to make this mature market show signs of positivity.”

Meanwhile, PYMNTS last week examined the potential impact Apple and Samsung’s AI-powered smartphones could have on mobile commerce.

Tyler Rice, founder of kimchi.co and an iOS developer, told PYMNTS he sees significant potential in AI-driven mobile commerce, noting that large language models (LLMs) allow for a better search experience for shoppers. Still, Rice warned of the challenges these upgrades face, particularly regarding costs.

“These models are getting cheaper to run and seem to be on a curve downward, but they are currently expensive to run for search experiences or customer support experiences,” he said.

In spite of these obstacles, Rice sees substantial opportunities for businesses.

“AI can better understand user’s intentions, which can help engage customers, allowing them to more quickly find what they are looking for or get the information about a product that they need,” he said.

 

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