GenAI set to capture smartphone market; share hits 4% in 2023

As artificial intelligence becomes the most-hyped technology of the current era, its use case in smartphone technology will only rise manifold. The share of GenAI smartphones will be 4% of the market in 2023 and is likely to double next year, according to the latest report by Counterpoint Research. It says the smartphone industry is set for a "revolutionary change", with the introduction of generative AI-based devices and by 2027, the GenAI smartphone share will reach 40% and surpass half a billion in shipments.

The preliminary data shows generative AI (GenAI) smartphones will see shipments rising to over 100 million units in 2024, the report “GenAI Smartphone Shipments and Insights” from Counterpoint Research’s Smartphone 360 Service says. By 2027, the shipments of GenAI smartphones are expected to see a CAGR growth of 83%, hitting around 522 million units.

GenAI smartphones are a subset of AI smartphones that use generative AI to create original content, rather than just providing pre-programmed responses or performing predefined tasks. These devices will run size-optimised AI models natively and come with certain hardware specifications.

"Our short-term GenAI landscape sees OEM roadmaps touching on four main areas -- info provisioning, image building, live translation, and personal assistant applications," the report adds.

When it comes to companies leading the GenAI-based smartphone race, Samsung and Qualcomm are in the top positions, as their latest product offerings and capabilities position them as first movers. "Similar to what it did with foldables, Samsung is likely to capture almost 50% share for the next two years, followed by key Chinese OEMs like Xiaomi, vivo, HONOR and OPPO," the report adds.

Notably, Samsung had earlier highlighted the use case of its Galaxy AI on smartphones. Companies like Qualcomm, says Counterpoint, will likely capture over 80% of the GenAI smartphone market for the next two years.

Counterpoint research director Tarun Pathak says: "The share of GenAI smartphones in the overall smartphone market will be in single digits through next year. But those numbers will not accurately reflect the amount of excitement and marketing hyperbole we are expecting to see.”

As for India, Gen AI could contribute $1.2-1.5 trillion to the country's GDP by FY30, according to a report by consultancy major EY India. "India is poised to witness a substantial increase in its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by an estimated $1.2-1.5 trillion over the next seven years by adoption of Gen AI technology and its applications across sectors, according to a report released by EY India on December 17," EY's latest report titled 'The AIdea of India: Generative AI’s potential to accelerate India’s digital transformation' shows.

India has emerged as the second largest generator of digital data, behind only China, which gives it an advantage when it comes to training GenAI models that need vast amounts of data to learn before they can perform their magic, says EY.