Gen AI pushes growth in smartphone sector

The African smartphone market grew 9% to 74.7 million units in 2024, as easing inflation across the continent boosted consumer purchasing power.

Smartphone shipments in Latin America surged 23.3% year-on-year in Q1 due to retailers moving to clear inventory, and Chinese vendors pushing aggressively.

Global smartphone shipments increased 7.8% year-on-year to 289.4 million units in Q1 2024, marking a third consecutive quarter of growth and indicating that recovery of handset sales is well underway.