Canalys is out today with its joint report focusing on both last year’s fourth quarter smartphone share numbers (October to December), as well as performance for the full year. Overall, the picture is rather bleak for cell phone vendors. The market shrank 17% in the fourth quarter, compared to the fourth quarter of 2021. Shipments for the full year were down 11%, to less than 1.2 billion.
Apple won the market share game in the fourth quarter, as usual influenced by the launch of its newest iPhones, only this time it recorded its highest market share ever: 25%. Samsung came in second with 20%, Xiaomi came in third with 11%, Oppo was fourth with 10% and vivo came in fifth with 8% of the market, while the “Others” category accounted for 26 % of sales.
Compared to the fourth quarter of 2021, Apple’s share grew by 2%, that of Samsung and Oppo by 1%, that of vivo remained the same and that of Xiaomi fell by 2%. Xiaomi’s decline is apparently “largely due to the challenges in India”.
For the full year, Samsung led with 22% of the market, followed by Apple with 19% and Xiaomi with 13%. Oppo and vivo both had 9% market share. Compared to 2021, Samsung and Apple gain 2 percentage points of share, Oppo loses 2%, while Xiaomi and vivo drop by 1%.
For 2023, Canalys forecasts predict “flat to marginal growth” for the entire market. Suppliers are said to approach the year cautiously, prioritizing profitability and protecting market share, while cutting costs “to adjust to the new market reality,” according to analyst Le Xuan Chiew.
Start a new Thread