
Two firms nonetheless dominate smartphone gross sales, however it’s been a tricky, powerful yr
Picture: Oscar Wong by way of Getty Photographs Apple and Samsung are the highest smartphone

Apple and Samsung are the highest smartphone producers by marketshare as soon as once more, however it’s additionally a yr the place provide shortages and slowing gross sales have hampered the business as a complete.
Tech analyst Canalys reviews that worldwide This autumn 2022 smartphone shipments fell by 17% year-on-year, whereas shipments throughout the yr declined 11% to simply below 1.2 billion. Analyst IDC estimates the business shipped 1.24 billion smartphones in 2022 with no progress for 2023.
However Apple’s iPhone reached its highest ever marketshare at 25% within the fourth quarter. It is traded high spot with Samsung twice since 2020, each additionally occurring in This autumn, according to its September launch of latest iPhones.
Samsung, which is broadly anticipated to launch its Galaxy S23 collection on February 1, completed this quarter with a 20% worldwide share. In third place, Xiaomi had an 11% share, whereas Oppo and Vivo had 10% and eight% respectively.
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This quarter was the worst This autumn efficiency for smartphone shipments in a decade, based on Canalys.
And it is not simply smartphones which might be struggling. PC shipments are within the doldrums too as shoppers and now companies maintain again spending. Full-year PC shipments for 2022 reached 286.2 million items, a 16.2% lower from 2021, based on analyst Gartner. This autumn 2022 PC shipments declined 28.5% yr on yr — the largest decline Gartner has recorded because it began monitoring the PC market within the mid-Nineties.
That drop can partly be defined by COVID-19-related provide chain points in China within the quarter, but additionally as a result of retailers are cautious of carrying an excessive amount of stock. In November, Apple was contending with disruptions at Foxconn’s Zhengzhou iPhone meeting plant. Apple warned that shipments in the course of the vacation season can be decrease than anticipated as a result of disruptions.
“Smartphone distributors have struggled in a tough macroeconomic surroundings all through 2022. This autumn marks the worst annual and This autumn efficiency in a decade,” stated Canalys analysis analyst Runar Bjørhovde.
“The channel is very cautious with taking over new stock, contributing to low shipments in This autumn. Backed by sturdy promotional incentives from distributors and channels, the vacation gross sales season helped scale back stock ranges. Whereas low-to-mid-range demand fell quick in earlier quarters, high-end demand started to point out weak point in This autumn. The market’s efficiency in This autumn 2022 stands in stark distinction to This autumn 2021, which noticed surging demand and easing provide points.”
Canalys is forecasting flat-to-marginal progress for smartphones in 2023.
Samsung nonetheless held on to high spot for full-year shipments, with a 22% share versus Apple’s 19% share.
The slowdown in shipments of latest smartphones comes as shipments of used and refurbished smartphones attain all-time highs. IDC expects used smartphone shipments to rise from 283 million in 2022 to 413 million in 2016. The used phase has elevated on account of distributors corresponding to Samsung and Apple utilizing trade-in packages to stoke gross sales of latest fashions.