Global Smartphone Sales Fall; Apple Gains, Samsung And Xiaomi Slide

Worldwide smartphone shipments declined by 9% year-on-year in the three months to September to 297.8 million units amid weak demand, research firm Canalys said in a report today.

Samsung defended its first place in the market despite an 8% decline, shipping 64.1 million units; Apple, whose notable iPhone suppliers include Taiwan’s Hon Hai Precision and Pegatron, delivered 53.0 million units, 8% above a year earlier.

Following two quarters of double-digit declines, Beijing-headquartered Xiaomi suffered another fall of 8%, shipping 40.5 million units, Canalys said. OPPO and vivo, also of China, took fourth and fifth place despite having over 20% declines. (See details here.)

Xiaomi, led by Chinese billionaire Lei Jun, “managed to leverage its global scale with a refreshed product line to offset declines in its home market,” said Canalys analyst Runar Bjørhovde. “OPPO and vivo are still significantly impacted by the drop in the China market but have both shown small signs of recovery.” China’s economy has been hurt this year by “zero-Covid” restrictions.

“Moving into Q4, ongoing global disruptions are hampering the performance of entire ecosystem portfolios for vendors,” said Canalys analyst Toby Zhu.

“The upstream supply chain is entering a long winter sooner than expected,” he said. “Slow inventory turnover and poor economic figures have affected the channel’s confidence.”

“Managing the gloomiest (fourth quarter) outlook in over a decade will show which vendors are well-positioned for the long-term,” Zhu noted.

See related posts:

China Policy “Straightjacket” May End After Party Congress, Economist Says

Elon Musk Backs Special China Zone For Taiwan That’d Be “More Lenient Than Hong Kong”

@rflannerychina