Apple maintains its position as the world’s largest smartphone maker with shipments in the fourth quarter of 2022, according to IDC. However, iPhone shipments declined 14.9% year over year.
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Global smartphone shipments fell in the fourth quarter of 2022 – typically the time of big holiday shopping – due to macroeconomic weakness and soft consumer demand, according to market research firm IDC.
Electronics companies shipped 300.3 million smartphones in October to December, up 18.3% year-on-year, IDC said in a report published late Wednesday. The decline represented the biggest drop in a quarter.
A total of 1.21 billion smartphones were shipped in 2022, representing the lowest annual number of shipments since 2013 “as consumer demand, inflation, and economic uncertainty ease,” IDC said.
“We have never seen shipments in the holiday quarter lower than the previous quarter. However, weak demand and high inventory have caused vendors to drastically reduce shipments,” said Nabila Popal, director of research at IDC.
Shipping represents the company’s preferred device Apple and Samsung deliver to retailers and mobile operators. They are not the same as sales but give an indication of demand.
IDC said that the “difficult approach to the year puts the 2.8% recovery expected for 2023 in serious danger with the risk of a severe downside to the forecast.”
Apple maintains its position as the number one smartphone manufacturer in the world. The US tech giant shipped 72.3 million iPhones in the fourth quarter, down 14.9% year-on-year, IDC said. Apple has a market share of 24.1%. The decline comes despite Apple launching its latest model — the iPhone 14 series — ahead of the crucial holiday quarter.
Apple faced several supply chain issues in the December quarter after its largest iPhone factory in Zhengzhou, China, was hit by the Covid outbreak and worker protests.
Samsung, the second largest smartphone player, saw shipments fall 15.6% year-on-year to 58.2 million units. Samsung did not release a new flagship smartphone for the fourth quarter but held an event on February 1 where it will show off new devices.
Chinese electronics manufacturer Xiaomi, which came in third, shipped 33.2 million units in the fourth quarter, down 26.3% year on year. This is the biggest drop among the top five smartphone players, which also includes Chinese smartphone makers Oppo and Vivo.
“With 2022 declining more than 11% for the year, 2023 is set to be a year of caution as vendors will rethink their device portfolios while channels will think twice before taking on excess inventory,” said Anthony Scarsella, research director at IDC.