According to a new International Data Corporation (IDC) forecast, the future of the smartphone industry is set to change as worldwide generative AI (GenAI) smartphone shipments are expected to grow 363.6 percent year-on-year to 234.2 million units in 2024. It is predicted. It represents 19 percent of the overall smartphone market in 2024.

IDC defines GenAI smartphones as devices that feature a system-on-a-chip (SoC) that implements GenAI models on the device more quickly and efficiently at 30 tera operations per second (TOPS). Leverages a Neural Processing Unit (NPU) with or higher. Performance using the int-8 data type.

Despite the challenges of long refresh cycles and macroeconomic uncertainty, GenAI capabilities on smartphones will continue to upgrade and represent a significant opportunity for both vendors and application developers alike. The dramatic growth seen in 2024 will continue till 2025, with shipments of GenAI smartphones expected to grow by 73.1% year-on-year. Moderate double-digit growth is expected for the remainder of the forecast period. By 2028, IDC forecasts 912 million GenAI smartphone shipments, resulting in a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 78.4 percent over 2024-2028.

“The rapid adoption of GenAI in smartphones is unprecedented in mobile history with market penetration expected to exceed 60% in the first three years,” said Nabila Popal, senior research director with IDC’s Worldwide Tracker team. ” “However, the most significant impact of this evolution is expected in 2026, when mid-range devices are expected to adopt the technology, making a significant leap towards the democratization of GenAI. Although in the coming years It’s still too early to know all the use cases that will come up, but one thing is certain, GenAI will completely change the way we interact with smartphones.

GenAI smartphones will likely be limited to flagship devices.

While sales of GenAI smartphones will likely be limited to flagship devices in the first year or two, there will be even more exciting developments in the future. As phones capable of running GenAI on the device become more popular, the potential for more personalized and proactive AI assistants increases. This evolution, driven by consumer demand, application growth, and overall industry growth, promises to make the next decade the most exciting era for the smartphone market.

“GenAI smartphones are inevitable and the industry sees the next big thing for consumers,” said Anthony Scarcella, research director of mobile phones at IDC. “Three-digit growth in 2024 will be followed by four consecutive years of double-digit growth as device manufacturers look to incorporate GenAI-enabled features into their device offerings. The sets don’t come cheap and are primarily available in the ultra-premium segment of the market. However, over time, we believe these components will make their way into the mid-market and more affordable models as device manufacturers and AI applications evolve. Competition will increase.