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Global Smartphone Shipments Grow 2 Percent In 2025 Amid Emerging Market Surge

Global smartphone shipments climbed 2 percent year-on-year in 2025, underpinned by robust demand and growing economic momentum in emerging markets, according to Counterpoint Research.

Strong Growth in Emerging Markets

Emerging markets have proven pivotal in advancing global smartphone sales, as consumers in these regions continue to drive demand. This growth, bolstered by sustained economic activity, has been a key catalyst in the 2 percent increase seen during 2025.

Market Leaders and Strategic Shifts

Apple maintained its leadership with a commanding 20 percent market share, buoyed by strong performance across emerging and mid-sized markets and robust sales of its iPhone 17 series. Samsung secured the second position with a 19 percent share, marking modest shipment gains. Meanwhile, Xiaomi, with a 13 percent market share, continued to capitalize on steady demand in emerging markets. Each brand’s ability to anticipate and adjust to market challenges has proven decisive.

Supply Chain and Future Outlook

Manufacturers strategically accelerated shipments earlier in the year to preempt potential tariff impacts, although this effect diminished as 2025 progressed. Looking ahead, the global smartphone market appears poised for a slowdown in 2026. Contributing factors include persistent chip shortages and rising component costs, as chipmakers increasingly prioritize investments in AI data centers over handset production. As noted by Counterpoint Research Director Tarun Pathak, these shifts may temper future growth prospects. For broader context on market dynamics, see insights from Reuters.

Meta Bets On AI To Strengthen Facebook’s Appeal Among Creators

Meta is expanding its use of artificial intelligence to strengthen Facebook’s appeal among creators, unveiling plans to transform Creator Studio into a standalone AI-powered companion app designed to simplify content management and audience growth.

An AI Assistant Built Around Creator Workflows

Announced on Wednesday, the new app is currently being tested with a select group of creators and incorporates Facebook’s recently launched AI creator assistant. According to Meta, the tool provides personalised recommendations based on a creator’s content, audience engagement, performance metrics and growth objectives.

Rather than navigating multiple dashboards and analytics reports, creators will be able to ask questions directly in a conversational format. Queries such as when to post, how content is performing or what audiences are discussing in the comments can be answered through the assistant, with follow-up prompts offering deeper insights into engagement trends.

From Analytics To Action

Beyond reporting performance data, the platform is designed to help creators act on those insights. A new AI-powered comment management tool will identify priority interactions and suggest responses tailored to the creator’s tone and style. Suggested replies can be reviewed and edited before publication, allowing creators to maintain control over their communication while reducing the time spent managing engagement.

Daily recommendations will also be integrated into the app, highlighting key tasks such as reviewing recent content performance, tracking progress toward audience goals and responding to important comments. The aim is to turn Creator Studio into a more comprehensive productivity tool rather than a traditional analytics platform.

Why Meta Is Pushing Harder For Creators

The initiative comes as competition for creators intensifies across social media platforms. Facebook continues to compete with TikTok and YouTube for audience attention, making creator retention an increasingly important priority. By embedding AI more deeply into creator workflows, Meta is seeking to make content planning, performance analysis and community management easier without requiring users to rely on external tools.

Keeping more of those activities within Facebook’s ecosystem could help strengthen creator engagement while reducing dependence on third-party AI platforms for brainstorming, analytics and audience insights.

Part Of A Broader App Expansion Strategy

Wednesday’s announcement fits into a broader pattern of product launches from Meta. Last month, the company introduced Forum, a stand-alone app for Facebook Groups that functions similarly to Reddit. In April, it launched Instants, an app for sharing disappearing photos with Instagram friends.

The pipeline appears to be growing. The New York Times reported this week that Meta is also building a prediction-market app internally known as Arena, though it has not yet launched. Taken together, these products suggest a company that is increasingly comfortable spinning up focused apps around specific use cases instead of relying solely on its flagship platforms.

That approach aligns with comments CEO Mark Zuckerberg reportedly made to employees earlier this year, when he pointed to AI-driven efficiencies as a way for Meta to build more apps than it historically has. The message is clear: Meta is not just adding AI features. It is reorganizing product strategy around them.

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