A new report from Canalys reports an 11 percent decrease in smartphone shipments globally owing to adverse market conditions in Q1 2022. These conditions were governed mainly by the war in Ukraine, new lockdowns imposed in China, and the ongoing global inflation.
While the two market leaders, Samsung and Apple continued to lead the market with their respective 24 percent and 18 percent shares, Xiaomi, Oppo and Vivo witnessed a drop.
The South Korean tech giant led the market with a 24 percent share, which went up from 19% during the holiday quarter and 22% in Q1 last year, thanks to strong sales of the Galaxy S22 series as well as solid demand for the revamped Galaxy A-series. Apple secured the second spot with an 18 market share.
According to Canalys Analyst, Sanyam Chaurasia:
While the iPhone 13 series continues to capture consumer demand, the new iPhone SE launched in March is becoming an important mid-range volume driver for Apple. At a similar price point to its predecessor, it offers an upgraded chipset and improved battery performance and adds the 5G connectivity that operator channels are demanding.
He further detailed the reasons for the declining smartphone shipments in Q1 2022:
Markets saw a spike in COVID-19 cases due to the Omicron variant, though minimal hospitalizations and high vaccination rates helped normalize consumer activity quickly. Vendors face major uncertainty due to the Russia-Ukraine war, China’s rolling lockdowns, and the threat of inflation. All this added to traditionally slow seasonal demand.
Xiaomi was ranked third with a 13 percent share, thanks to the success of its Redmi Note series. While, Oppo, and Vivo took fourth and fifth places with a market share of 10 percent and 8 percent, respectively.
Despite ongoing uncertainty, the smartphone manufacturers seem to have found ways to broaden their device portfolios for the year. The Canalys report concludes with good news that the component shortages might improve sooner than expected, which will certainly aid in mitigating cost pressures.