** Samsung gained top spot with 19% market share, followed by Apple at 18% and Xiaomi at 14% in 2024, Counterpoint Research says
** Shares of Apple down 1.3% at $233.90 premarket; report says AAPL's iPhone 16 series was met with a mixed response, partly due to a lack of availability of Apple Intelligence at launch
** "iPhone sell-through was down, but consumers are pivoting to Apple's ultra-high end, helping to offset some of the declines," Ivan Lam, senior analyst at Counterpoint Research says
** Smartphone market recovers in 2024 after two years of decline - report
** Xiaomi grew fastest among the top five brands in 2024, helped by its portfolio realignment, premium push and aggressive expansion activities - report
** The top 5 remained the same as in 2023 but lost some share to aggressive competition from Huawei , HONOR and Motorola - report
** Counterpoint Research says it expects nine out of 10 smartphones priced above $250 to be GenAI-capable by 2028
(Reporting by Jaspreet Singh in Bengaluru)
((Jaspreet.Singh@thomsonreuters.com ; ))