ODMs Contributed 44 Percent to Smartphone Shipments in 2024

Outsourced design and production by original design manufacturers (ODMs) have surged globally since the smartphone shipment peak in 2017, leading to their growing share in the overall market, according to Counterpoint Research. The outsourced portion reached a record 44% of total smartphone shipments in 2024.

With the mobile phone market undergoing swift technological changes, including changes in the form factor – from the candy-bar type and qwerty-type feature phones to touchscreen smartphones, OEMs have increasingly relied on ODMs to achieve economies. This has not only driven growth for ODMs but also consolidation, with a significant change in competitive dynamics between different ODMs since 2017.

"ODMs play an essential role in the smartphone industry because they are key to democratizing sub-frontier technologies for massive consumer bases. With in-house design, brands bring in cutting-edge technologies for the higher price bands. However, the law of survival of the fittest also applies to ODMs,” said Neil Shah, Vice President of Research at Counterpoint Research.

All of the top 10 ODMs, and those beyond, are dominated by companies based in China. Today’s ODM leaders are completely different than those 10 years ago, thanks to the growing consolidation and concentration of smartphone brands. These leaders, such as Longcheer, Huaqin, and Wingtech, have seen their scale grow handsomely, driven by prudent designs, improving quality, efficient sourcing strategies, and strong global supplier partnerships supporting the ongoing smartphone premiumization trend. However, with growing geopolitical turbulence, some of these ODMs have been expanding outside of China as well to support their key customers’ expansion and growth outside China.

“Maintaining a leading position in this industry is no easy task. For a company to stay ahead for over a decade, it must have developed unique survival strategies and risk-resilient capabilities. Of course, certain external factors can also trigger seismic shifts in the landscape. A recent example is Wingtech, which had to divest its product integration business to Luxshare after being sanctioned by the US. The year 2025 itself is already fraught with significant uncertainties, not to mention the recent sudden disruptions caused by US tariff measures,” said Ivan Lam, Senior Analyst at Counterpoint Research.

Within the runner-up group, TINNO has demonstrated remarkable resilience as a perpetually competitive force in the market, achieving 31% growth last year. This momentum positions it as a potential contender for the top three rankings by H1 2025. Our observations also highlight accelerated growth trajectories for MobiWire and Innovatech this year, driven by strategic partnerships with emerging brands.

“Collaborative synergy with brands remains the definitive catalyst for growth. However, the industry now demands enhanced capabilities to keep pace with the global trend of diversification of manufacturing and supply chains,” said Prachir Singh, Senior Analyst at Counterpoint Research. The recent US tariffs will exacerbate this trend, and it remains to be seen how this will shape the competitive landscape among ODMs. They may be forced to move to a more integrated IDH+EMS model, with EMS being locally distributed in “favorable production” geographies such as India and Brazil.