In the first quarter of this year, worldwide mobile phone purchases reached 289.4 million units, marking a 7.8 percent increase compared to the same period last year.

Samsung has reclaimed its position as the market leader, surpassing Apple after a brief period at the top. The South Korean manufacturer sold 60.1 million devices, almost matching its performance from a year earlier (60.5 million units), accounting for a minimal decrease of 0.7 percent. In contrast, Apple experienced a significant drop of 9.6 percent, with iPhone sales falling to 50.1 million units from 55.4 million.

This shift may be attributed to the timing of new product launches. Apple's announcement of its new devices in September led to a spike in sales for the iPhone 15 series in the last quarter of the previous year. By now, the novelty of Apple's offerings has faded, whereas Samsung introduced its Galaxy S24 series in January, positively impacting sales in the first quarter of this year and the launch was indeed successful.

Following these two industry giants, Chinese competitors are trailing but have shown notable growth. Xiaomi's sales increased by 33.8 percent, reaching 40.8 million units. Transsion, a brand less known in some markets, saw a staggering 84.9 percent increase in its market reach, selling 28.5 million units and surpassing Oppo, which recorded sales of 25.2 million units and an 8.5 percent decline.

Future sales in the coming quarters may heavily depend on how effectively each manufacturer can incorporate new features powered by artificial intelligence into their devices, as well as their marketing prowess.