Generative artificial intelligence (AI) smartphones are forecasted to lead market trends starting from 2024 with smartphone manufacturers planning to incorporate generative AI functions into their devices. Industry leaders like Samsung Electronics, with its Galaxy AI, are expected to dominate this emerging market.
According to Counterpoint Research’s recent “Generative AI Smartphone Shipments and Insights” report, generative AI smartphones, which accounted for 4% of total smartphone shipments in 2023 with 47 million units, are projected to surge to 8% in 2024. By 2027, shipments are expected to reach 522 million units, capturing 40% of the market, translating to an average annual growth rate of 83%.
Generative AI smartphones will offer features such as information provision, AI image creation and editing, and real-time translation. These phones will also enable AI assistants like Apple’s Siri, Samsung’s Bixby, and Google Assistant to perform creative tasks beyond set responses and actions. These devices will likely operate as “on-device AI,” functioning independently from online connections and thus requiring significantly enhanced device performance.
Samsung Electronics is anticipated to be a market leader in smartphones, with Qualcomm leading the chipset market. The industry expects Samsung to introduce Galaxy AI in its Galaxy S24 series, set to launch in January 2024. One of the disclosed features of Galaxy AI is “real-time translation calling.”
Counterpoint Research predicts that Samsung will initially capture half of the generative AI smartphone market, followed by Chinese smartphone brands like vivo, Xiaomi, HONOR, and OPPO. Apple, although slightly behind its competitors in generative AI adaptation, has recently gained attention by publishing a paper on generative AI. It proposed a technical solution to operate large language models (LLMs) on devices with relatively less memory without relying on high-speed computing devices in large servers.
In the chipset domain, Qualcomm, known for its latest mobile application processors (APs), is expected to hold nearly 80% market share. MediaTek, based in Taiwan, which supplies APs to Chinese smartphones, is a key competitor. Samsung’s Exynos 2400 and Google’s Tensor G3 are also positioning themselves in the AI smartphone chipset market.