The world of technology is fierce. Although in almost all segments we have several brands in Liza, it is one or two that lead. We see it on video games with Nintendo and PlayStationin Nvidia graphics cards or on televisions with Samsung and LG. In the world of mobiles it is not different and, although there are multitude of brandsthose that are distributed by the cake are Apple and Samsung.
It is something that It was not always like thatand in this graph prepared by Visual Capitalist We can see the evolution of mobiles produced by the different manufacturers in the last decade, as well as those that survived and those that remained on the road.


Dance of two. Although the graph, which reflects the data of Trendforceleave out Many Chinese giantswhat is clear is that the global market is dominated by two players: Apple and Samsung. It is estimated that, between the two, more than 40% of the world smartphones market dominated, highlighting Apple in Income and Samsung in total market volume, and in the Visual Capitalist graph, what we see is not the total market, but the evolution of the units produced by the selected brands.
That is the reason why we do not see others like Xiaomi or a huawei that now sells, above all, in China, but for a while He played the reign to Apple and Samsung.
Apple |
Samsung |
|
---|---|---|
2015 |
215.3 million |
321.5 million |
2016 |
225.5 million |
309 million |
2017 |
225 million |
312 million |
2018 |
200.5 million |
292.6 million |
2019 |
190.4 million |
287.5 million |
2020 |
214.6 million |
276 million |
2021 |
239 million |
272.8 million |
2022 |
225 million |
245.4 million |
2023 |
222.4 million |
227.55 million |
2024 |
222.5 million |
225.8 million |
The ones we lost. But, although the graph is not complete, it is interesting for a reason: it allows us to see the evolution of many historical brands outside the two largest today. Thus, we can see how Nokia in 2015, already low Microsoft’s mantle, It was small compared to what it wasbut he kept planting. The same with Sony and, to a lesser extent, Asus and HTC.
Nokia and Sony are still there, although with a volume very far away they handled, but the biggest batacazo without counting a Blackberry which was lost in 2018 was LG. The South Korean occupied a privilege position until it vanished in 2021, when they decided abandon completely The smartphones business.
|
Sony |
Nokia |
LG |
|
---|---|---|---|---|
2015 |
– |
29.5 million |
30 million |
66.5 million |
2016 |
450,000 |
16.4 million |
15 million |
74.7 million |
2017 |
3.65 million |
13.5 million |
14.8 million |
56.1 million |
2018 |
4.55 million |
6.95 million |
14.3 million |
39.3 million |
2019 |
4.75 million |
4.2 million |
9.5 million |
33 million |
2020 |
4.05 million |
2.85 million |
6.7 million |
30.2 million |
2021 |
6.45 million |
2.7 million |
3.3 million |
3 million |
2022 |
8 million |
2.6 million |
3.1 million |
– |
2023 |
10.3 million |
2.8 million |
780,000 |
– |
2024 |
10.5 million |
2.45 million |
160,000 |
– |
Google. It seemed that Asus was going to have his time, especially in a few years in which they innovated with their Reversible Chamber Systems – The Zenfone Flip– And some phones like the Zenfone 10 that bet on gross power in a contained size when The rest of the market was going to huge diagonalsbut the adventure did not curdle. Like that of a Sony converted into a niche brand with its Ultrapanoramic screens and powerful recording and editing tools, but that produces fewer units.
In the graph we can see a very different story, that of Google. The company has been supporting others such as Samsung, HTC or Asus since 2010 to create His Nexusbut in 2016 they made the leap to their own mobiles with the Google Pixel. That first Pixel was revolutionary in the Android market and, although they have not opted for power, they have been consistent when creating mobile phones with very Good camera systems and one Applied to photography.
They have also relied to being the entrance door to New Android versions of each yearand in the graph we can see how they go from having a marginal position to be one with increasing presence. Also in advertising, with series such as Last season of ‘You’ In Netflix in which the characters use brand devices.
And the Chinese? They are the great absent of this comparison. Taking data from 2023, Xiaomi shipment about 146.1 million smartphones worldwide, which represented a slight annual decrease in global computing, but a light Growth in a premium segment in which they want to strengthen. Oppo (including Realme and OnePlus) sent about 100 million units and from Huawei there are no data, but after years of sanctionsin 2023 and 2024 They returned strongly to the Chinese market.


In fact, although the figures say that the iPhone 15 It was the best -selling mobile of 2024 and Samsung also appears well stopped on the list, last year The great victory went to Chinawith its main brands rising in a spectacular way. And you have to wait for 2026 to see the full photo of 2024.
In Xataka | The long goodbye of Huawei in Spain: of strategic partner to Technology Non Grata
GIPHY App Key not set. Please check settings