IDC: Smartphone sales dropped 18.3% in the fourth quarter

Worldwide smartphone shipments declined 18.3% year-over-year in the course of the fourth quarter within the greatest such drop on document, in response to Worldwide Knowledge Corp. analysis.

Preliminary knowledge released by IDC in the present day signifies that customers purchased 300.3 million handsets within the final three months of 2022. That’s down from 362.4 million a year earlier. Demand was additionally decrease than within the third quarter of 2022, when shoppers purchased 301.9 million smartphones.

“We have now by no means seen shipments within the vacation quarter are available in decrease than the earlier quarter,” stated IDC Analysis Director Nabila Popal. “Nonetheless, weakened demand and excessive stock precipitated distributors to chop again drastically on shipments. Heavy gross sales and promotions in the course of the quarter helped deplete present stock fairly than drive cargo progress.”

Apple Inc. bought extra handsets than every other cell machine maker within the fourth quarter. IDC estimates that the corporate shipped 72.3 million iPhones to clients, down from 85 million a yr earlier. However although the variety of units it bought fell, Apple grew its share of the smartphone market by one proportion level, to 21.4%.

Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. ranked because the second-largest handset maker within the fourth quarter with 58.2 million units bought. The corporate shipped 69 million smartphones on the similar time 12 months earlier. Equally to Apple, Samsung barely elevated its general share of the smartphone market to 19.4% from 18.8% within the fourth quarter of 2021. 

The three subsequent largest smartphone producers, Xiaomi, Oppo and Vivo, collectively bought 81.4 million models. That translated right into a mixed market share of 33.2%. In keeping with IDC, the remainder of the handset market was divided amongst smaller handset makers that collectively bought 93.6 million smartphones, or about one in each three handsets bought worldwide.

Although Apple shipped extra smartphones than Samsung in the course of the fourth quarter, the Korean firm ranked because the world’s largest handset maker in 2022. Samsung bought 260.9 million units in the course of the yr, in response to IDC’s estimates. Apple bought 226.4 million iPhones.

IDC projects that worldwide smartphone shipments will edge up 2.8% this yr, to 1.24 billion models. Nonetheless, the analysis agency cautioned in the present day that the decrease shopper demand within the fourth quarter “places the two.8% restoration anticipated for 2023 in severe jeopardy with heavy downward danger to the forecast.” The decrease machine demand may probably additionally have an effect on gross sales of the blended actuality headsets that Apple and Samsung are expected to introduce this yr. 

“We proceed to witness shopper demand dwindle as refresh charges climb previous 40 months in most main markets,” stated IDC Analysis Director Anthony Scarsella. “Nonetheless, on a constructive word, shoppers might discover much more beneficiant trade-in gives and promotions persevering with nicely into 2023.”

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