The year 2022 has not been good for the smartphone market globally. Recording its third consecutive decline this year, the 9% YoY drop has made the situation worse since 2014. Consumers continue to decline electronic purchases, making the market dampened for the next six to nine months.
Samsung continues to lead with a 22% market share, while Apple is the only vendor in the top five to record positive growth. Apple continues to have its 18% market share as Chinese brands Xiaomi, OPPO and Vivo take cautious approaches to retain 14%, 10% and 9% market shares, respectively.
Analyst Amber Liu said, “The smartphone market is highly reactive to consumer demand and vendors are adjusting quickly to the harsh business conditions. For most vendors, the priority is to reduce the risk of inventory building up given the deteriorating demand. Vendors had significant stockpiles going into July, but sell-through gradually improved from September owing to aggressive discounting and promotions. The pricing strategy of new products is cautiously crafted, even for Apple, to avoid significant pushback from consumers who now tend to be very sensitive to any price hike.”
