Global smartphone shipments decline due to poor demand, only Apple sees growth: Canalys

While shipments of high-end smartphones were up, the overall demand for smartphones fell in the third quarter of 2022. This led to a 9 per cent overall drop in shipments in the quarter, suggests a new report Singapore-based research firm Canalys. The major reason behind the decrease is a drop in demand. ‘The latest Canalys smartphone analysis indicates weak demand in Q3 2022 caused worldwide smartphone shipments to decline 9% year-on-year to 297.8 million units,” the report said.
Samsung and Apple stay on top
While the market saw an overall decline, Apple was the only vendor that saw a year-on-year shipment growth. Increased demands for its flagship phones such as the older iPhone 13 and iPhone 14 series, largely drove this and this helped Apple grow 8 per cent in the quarter. “The popularity of the iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max, in particular, will contribute to a higher ASP and stable revenue for Apple,” Runar Bjørhovd, Analyst at Canalys Research, said in a press statement.

However, Samsung maintained its first spot on the l despite an 8 per cent decline, shipping 64.1 million units. “Samsung refreshed its foldable portfolio and increased its marketing initiatives significantly to generate interest and demand for its new flagships. Mid-to-low-end demand has been hit making it challenging for vendors to navigate in a competitive segment,” the analyst adds.
Xiaomi regered a decline of 8 per cent following two back-to-back quarters of double-digit declines and shipped 53 million units. Meanwhile, Oppo and Vivo shipped 28.5 million and 27.4 million units to take the fourth and fifth spots.
Europe and Asia Pacific outperform in Q3
“Europe and the Asia Pacific outperformed the rest of the world in Q3,” Canalys Analyst Sanyam Chaurasia said. “Europe avoided a significant drop helped a spike in shipments to Russia. Here, Chinese vendors leveraged short-term opportunities to stock up the channel in a market that has been undersupplied during previous quarters,” Chaurasia adds.

While Asia Pacific maintained a large variation between markets, improving demand in regions like India, Indonesia and the Philippines helped “stabilise” APAC performance this quarter. “Carrier-dominated markets such as North America and Latin America presented increasingly cautious sentiments on managing inventory before heading into big holiday seasons, contrasting a much more optimic view in Q3 last year,” the analyst added.