In its preliminary report on the global smartphone market for the first quarter of the year, Canalys revealed that shipments declined 12% year-on-year, marking the fifth consecutive quarter of decline.
Samsung regained the top spot from Apple due to decreased interest in the iPhone 14, while Xiaomi managed to hold onto third place despite a significant drop in sales. Oppo and Vivo are still among the top 5 biggest smartphone makers in the world. The two Chinese companies hold 15% and 10% of the global market share according to the latest numbers.
But while Oppo and Vivo have shown a stable performance throughout the past three years, Xiaomi’s sales have started to dwindle following 2021.
According to analyst Sanyam Chaurasia, the decline was in line with industry expectations. While macroeconomic conditions did improve slightly, companies invested more in promotions and other marketing activities. However, consumer demand remained sluggish, particularly in the low-end segment due to high inflation.
Due to weak demand, manufacturers have reduced production volumes and are looking to clear existing inventory, which has had a negative impact on the component supply chain in the long term.
However, the challenging market conditions have compelled smartphone vendors to become more active in production planning and order optimization.
As the first signs of recovery are expected in Q2 2023, it is anticipated that most of the existing stock will be sold through, and then hopefully, shipments will begin to pick up again.
Both Samsung and Apple have major launch events coming up later this year and Xiaomi has launched its 13 Ultra smartphone for the first time in the global market. All of these factors are expected to breathe some life into the slumping smartphone shipments.
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