Worldwide smartphone shipments have declined for the fourth straight quarter, as a global financial crunch and continuing supply chain issues hamper the entire mobile industry.
The overall June quarter decline was 8.7 per cent year over year), according to preliminary data from the International Data Corporation Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker.
Shipments fell to 286 million, 3.5 per cent lower than forecast. As a result IDC say the outlook for the 2022 smartphone market will definitely be revised down a few points.
“We continue to believe that any reduction today is not demand that is lost, but simply pushed forward,” said Nabila Popal research director with IDC’s Worldwide Tracker team.
“What started out as a supply-constrained industry earlier this year has turned into a demand-constrained market.
“While supply improved as capacity and production was ramped up, roaring inflation and economic uncertainty has seriously dampened consumer spending and increased inventory across all regions.
“OEMs have cut back orders for the rest of the year with Chinese vendors making the biggest cuts as their largest market continues to struggle.”
Not surprisingly, Central and Eastern Europe saw the biggest drop off, with a 36.5 per cent year-over-year drop as the war in Ukraine continues to hamper the region. Given that region only accounts for 6 per cent of global shipments, this didn’t impact overall numbers as much as China, which declined 14.3 per cent year on year.
Samsung held the top spot with 21.8 per cent share and healthy growth in all regions except Europe, according to IDC.
Apple came in second with 15.6 per cent share, Xiaomi narrowed the gap at 13.8 per cent share, while vivo and OPPO hold 8.7 per cent and 8.6 per cent share respectively.
