Global smartphone shipments fell to their lowest quarterly number in two years after consumer confidence was sapped by inflation and recession fears.
Global smartphone shipments fell to their lowest quarterly number in two years after consumer confidence was sapped by inflation and recession fears.
The quarter to June saw a 9% drop to roughly 290 million units shipped, market trackers Canalys, Counterpoint and IDC said, with China vendors leading the declines. Market leader Samsung Electronics Co. retained the top spot with about 62 million units while Apple Inc. held second, followed by Xiaomi Corp., Oppo and Vivo. The Chinese trio each registered double-digit drops in shipments with Xiaomi down 25%, according to the data.
Prolonged Covid-19 lockdowns in Shanghai and Beijing took a toll on domestic sales in China, while the wider market is now challenged by a glut of lower-priced devices and a reluctant consumer, the analysts found.
“Supply chain shortages are no longer the most pressing issue as component orders are being cut rapidly and suppliers have started to be concerned about oversupply,” Canalys analyst Toby Zhu wrote in a report. “Geopolitical issues, a dip in consumer confidence and high inflation will continue to damage future market performance, despite upcoming new launches and festival sales in the second half of 2022.”
Samsung downgraded its mobile market forecast for the second half of the year to either flat or slight growth, the South Korean company said after reporting earnings on Thursday. The caution about weaker demand was echoed by Apple’s post-earnings conference call, where Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook pointed to macroeconomic headwinds, the sales pause in Russia and disruption in China for the poor performance of Apple Watch and Mac products in the quarter.
In the Chinese market, smartphone shipments fell almost 15% in the June quarter, according to IDC. The one brand that swam against the tide was Honor: the Huawei Technologies Co. spinoff almost doubled its shipment in China to 13.1 million units, thanks to new devices targeting the entry-level market, IDC said.
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