Canalys: smartphone shipments down 11% in the first quarter, Apple and Samsung up compared to last year

The first quarter tends to be slow, but this year there are additional factors (the war in Ukraine, new blockades in China, global inflation) that have led to an 11% drop in smartphone shipments. The two main manufacturers, Samsung and Apple, have released sought-after phones, which have helped them expand their market shares, while the other three in the Top 5 have dropped slightly.

Samsung is back in the lead with a 24% share, up from 19% in the holiday quarter and 22% in the first quarter of last year. As usual, the launch of iPhones towards the end of the year caused Apple to surge in the fourth quarter, but Samsung claimed the top spot with strong sales of the Galaxy S22 flagships and solid demand for the Galaxy A series.

Apple is also doing quite well. Despite reports of reduced production, the third-generation iPhone SE is an “important mid-range volume driver for Apple,” analysts at Canalys write. Operators are demanding 5G phones to sell, and the SE (2022) is the cheapest 5G iPhone. The iPhone 13 series also continues to be a great seller.

Xiaomi maintains the third place with a market share of 13%, one percentage point lower than last year. The relatively strong performance is attributed to the popular Redmi Note series.

Oppo’s numbers include OnePlus phones and stand at 10% (down from 11% a year ago). This is one percentage point higher than in the fourth quarter, but the company still follows Xiaomi globally. The vivo affiliate remains at 8%, although it stood at 10% in the first quarter of last year.

The Canalys report concludes with a message of hope for the foreseeable future: “The good news is that the distressing shortage of components could improve sooner than expected, which will certainly help ease the pressure on costs.”