Smartphone market grows 6% as AI and discounts help demand

By Vlad Savov and Gao Yuan

Apple Inc.’s iPhone shipments stabilized in the June quarter as the wider smartphone market accelerated its growth, according to independent research.

Global smartphone shipments rose 6.5 per cent, according to IDC, while sales to consumers jumped 6 per cent, per Counterpoint Research figures. Aggressive discounts around China’s 618 shopping festival helped entice consumers in the world’s biggest mobile market, where Xiaomi Corp. and a resurgent Huawei Technologies Co. have been making inroads this year. The new research adds to data from Chinese authorities showing the iPhone staging a recovery since March.

IDC said Apple shipped 45.2 million handsets in the quarter, a 1.5 per cent improvement on the same period a year earlier. Counterpoint’s figures, which address end-user sales, showed a 1 per cent decline, and both research groups found the iPhone giving up market share. Xiaomi was the biggest riser, largely powered by entry-level handsets and emerging markets.

The iPhone has been under pressure in China from local players as well as a government ban on foreign devices at state-run workplaces. Discounts and the promise of new artificial intelligence enhancements has helped steady sales for Apple and market leader Samsung Electronics Co., which is also promoting a new generation of phones with AI additions.

“Apple’s momentum in Q2 improved significantly from the negative growth they saw in 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.”