Worldwide smartphone sales grew in 2024 following two consecutive years of decline according to reports from Counterpoint, Canalys, and IDC. The bulk of the growth came from Chinese manufacturers including Xiaomi and Vivo, though Apple and Samsung are still holding strong as the undisputed market leaders.

Apple and Samsung, the world’s top two smartphone makers, saw their global market shares decline last year, marking the first such drop in eight years since 2016. According to market researcher IDC on Jan.

In 2024, the global smartphone market saw growth for the first time in two years. While Apple and Samsung faced declines, Xiaomi emerged as the fastest-growing brand among the top players.

Samsung’s exciting new flagship launch is just a few weeks away, and promises an Android upgrade that’s the closest we’ve seen yet to iPhone, at least from a security and privacy perspective. Android 15 which hit Pixels late last year has already raised the bar, but Samsung will take this further when its One UI 7 is released alongside the S25.

Some unofficial Galaxy S25 Slim renders attempt to reveal this long-rumored model's measurements, including being just 6.4mm thick.

The biggest reveal from last week’s Samsung CES press conference may well have been another press conference. The hardware giant closed out the main event