Counterpoint: US smartphone sales to grow 5% year-on-year in July 2024

According to Counterpoint’s latest US smartphone tracking report, US smartphone market sales grew 5% year-on-year in July, mainly driven by Samsung and Motorola.

Apple's sales declined due to lower upgrade rates, but a notable bright spot was strong sales of the iPhone 15 Pro. "Despite the overall decline in shipments, unit sales of the high-value, high-margin iPhone 15 Pro grew at a double-digit rate," said Jeff Fieldhack, research director. "The mix shift toward Pro models has been an ongoing theme and one we are focusing on as we head into the September launch and earnings season."

A major driver of overall market growth was Samsung, which saw strong sales of its cheaper Galaxy A15 5G, which accounted for nearly a third of its sales, and the early launch of its Galaxy Z Flip 6 and Galaxy Z Fold 6 foldable devices.

Motorola benefited from prepaid consolidation across brands in the channel, with Verizon, T-Mobile and AT&T reducing the number of brands in their portfolios, while the best-selling Moto G Play took market share from white label and other vendors. In addition, very attractive device subsidies, such as the $1 down payment promotion on the Razr 2024, helped the OEM dominate with retailers such as Cricket. Aside from the launch of the new Pixel phones, promotional activity slowed down during the summer. "The summer months are typically the weakest months, but it is encouraging to see that sales this year are up year-over-year," added Fieldhack. "With a lot of interest in AI smartphones this year, the focus will return to the premium market as we enter the busy period at the end of the year."