The mobile market in 2024 is not just about the launches of the Galaxy S24 or iPhone 16. Two European regulatory shifts are reshaping the rules of the game for manufacturers, developers, and smartphone users. We are witnessing a clear decoupling between product news and the structural transformations that will condition the mobile ecosystem for years to come.
Digital Markets Act and app distribution on iOS in Europe
Since March 2024, the full enforcement of the Digital Markets Act requires Apple to allow, within the European Union, the distribution of apps through third-party marketplaces. iOS 17.4 has opened this technical breach: a developer can distribute their app via an alternative store or, under certain conditions, directly from their own site.
The change is structural. Until now, the App Store captured the entire distribution flow on iPhone. The European Commission has designated Apple as a gatekeeper, triggering obligations of non-discrimination and interoperability. Apple retains a notarization mechanism (security verification before installation) but can no longer block competition in distribution itself.
In practice, we are closely monitoring the news from Mobile Junky to measure the real impact on the catalog of applications available outside the App Store. The first months show cautious adoption by developers, hindered by the complexity of the new validation interfaces.
For mobile marketing professionals, the fragmentation of distribution channels changes the attribution calculation. An installation from a third-party store does not appear in the same dashboards as an App Store installation. Measurement tools must adapt, and most are not yet ready for this.
European Directive on the Right to Repair Smartphones
The Council of the European Union adopted the directive on the right to repair in May 2024. This text targets consumer electronics, with smartphones at the forefront. Access to spare parts and repair information becomes a legal obligation for manufacturers.
This directive goes beyond marketing rhetoric on sustainability. It directly impacts the total cost of ownership of a mobile device. A user who keeps their smartphone for an additional year thanks to a reasonably priced screen replacement alters the average renewal cycle, thus affecting new sales volume.
Samsung and Apple have anticipated this movement with self-service repair programs, but the directive imposes a more stringent framework. Independent repairers must have access to the same parts and technical diagrams as authorized centers. We recommend that refurbishing stakeholders monitor the national transposition of this directive, which will determine the deadlines and penalties applicable in France.
Long-term software updates: Samsung and Google set the standard
Seven years of guaranteed Android updates: this is the commitment made by Samsung for the Galaxy S24 range and by Google for the Pixel 8. This figure breaks with the previous norm of two to three years of support.
The impact is twofold. On the security side, a device that receives patches for seven years remains usable without exposing its data. On the refurbished market side, a three-year-old smartphone with four years of remaining support retains a residual value much higher than that of a model at the end of its software cycle.
- Galaxy S24 Ultra: seven years of Android updates and security patches, the first commitment of this duration from Samsung
- Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro: same seven-year guarantee, aligned with Google’s integrated hardware-software strategy
- Consequence for users: the choice criterion shifts from pure hardware to software support duration, a shift amplified by the refurbished market
Embedded AI on smartphones: what Galaxy AI changes concretely
Samsung launched Galaxy AI with the Galaxy S24, integrating real-time translation, text summarization, and photo editing functions directly on the device. Local processing reduces reliance on the cloud and limits the sending of personal data to remote servers.
The distinction between on-device AI and cloud AI remains blurry in manufacturers’ communications. On the Galaxy S24, some tasks (voice translation during calls) are executed locally thanks to the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3’s NPU, while others (image generation) are processed through Samsung or Google’s servers.
For mobile app developers, this hybrid architecture requires managing two execution paths. The choice between local processing and cloud offloading depends on the power of the available NPU, the volume of data to be processed, and latency constraints. The SDKs provided by Samsung and Google are starting to abstract this complexity, but the level of maturity varies by model.
Mobile trends 2024: advertising and user behaviors
Signals from 2024 indicate a recovery in advertising spending for mobile app installations, driven by the gradual adoption of the Privacy Sandbox on Android and the announced end of third-party cookies on Chrome.
Mobile remarketing is strengthening thanks to new measurement APIs that replace traditional advertising identifiers. Advertisers still relying on GAID or IDFA for targeting must migrate to contextual or cohort-based solutions.
On the usage side, the share of mobile traffic in global web traffic continues to grow, capturing the majority of consultations. Mobile gaming and short video platforms remain the main drivers of time spent on smartphones. TikTok and Instagram are competing for user attention, with intensified competition in vertical video formats.
The mobile market in 2024 is transforming less through technical specifications and more through regulatory frameworks and software commitments. The Digital Markets Act, the right to repair, and long-term updates are permanently altering the relationship between manufacturers, developers, and users in Europe. Product launches remain visible, but it is these fundamental changes that will determine the shape of the market in three years.
