smartphone market: Global smartphone shipments fall 11%: Smartphone vendor report card and what’s behind the drop

Global economic uncertainity hurt the demand for smartphones during the first three months of the year. According to reasearch firm Canalys, worldwide smartphone shipments fell 11% amid unfavorable economic conditions and sluggish seasonal demand in the first quarter of the year 2022.
However, the tepid demand seems to have not affected the growth plans of smartphone vendors who have been on a launch spree this year. The month of April has already seen 10-plus smartphone launches in India, and at least 6-7 more are likely to take place by the end of this month. Several new smartphone series too have made their debut in India this year. Vivo launched the T series and Oppo launched its new K series in India earlier this year. “Despite the looming uncertainty in global markets, the leading vendors accelerated their growth by broadening device portfolios for 2022,” said Canalys analyst Sanyam Chaurasia.
Samsung, Apple lead as Chinese companies face supply chain constraints
Samsung continues to lead the global smartphone market, followed by Apple, Xiaomi, Oppo and Vivo in the same order. Canalys is also upbeat about the demand of iPhone SE 3. Apple launched the third-generation of iPhone SE in March this year. The 4.7-inch iPhone is the most-affordable iPhone in Apple’s portfolio. The company launched iPhone SE after a gap of two years, iPhone SE 2 launched in 2020. The smartphone runs on same processor as the 2021 iPhone series, iPhone 13s, however, retains camera and display of iPhone SE 2.
“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. At the same time, Samsung ramped up production of its popular A series to compete aggressively in the mid-to-low-end segment while refreshing its 2022 portfolio, including its flagship Galaxy S22 series.”
While Samsung and Apple seems to be doing reasonably well, the spread of Coronavirus in China seems to be hurting Chinese smartphone vendors. “Chinese vendors are still suffering supply constraints at the low end, their global expansion is being hampered by a slowdown in their home market,” said Chaurasia.