Recent research from Strategy Analytics found that global smartphone shipments fell to 297 million units, down 9% year-on-year, in the third quarter of this year. Samsung topped the global market with a 22% share, Apple came in second with 16% and Xiaomi, OPPO (including OnePlus) and Vivo remained in the top five.

As confirmed by Linda Sui, senior director at Strategy Analytics, this is the fifth consecutive quarter of annual decline in smartphone volumes. Inventory adjustments and geopolitical issues negatively affected the market, and unfavorable economic conditions continued to weaken consumer demand for both smartphones and other non-essential products.

Woody Oh, director of Strategy Analytics, said Samsung is estimated to have shipped 64 million phones. Demand has tilted towards the low-cost A and M series, while the newly launched Z Fold 4 and Z Flip 4 help the company strengthen leadership in the foldable segment. Apple sold 49 million iPhones worldwide, up 6% year-over-year for a 16% global share.

Yiwen Wu, senior analyst at Strategy Analytics, added that Xiaomi shipped 40.5 million smartphones and ranked third with nearly 14% global share, outperforming other major Chinese brands and recording an 8% annual decline rate, but continued to suffer from geopolitical uncertainties in Europe.

In the global analysis, Neil Mawston, CEO at Strategy Analytics, noted that global competition among other major smartphone brands, beyond the top five, was fierce during the third quarter of 2022. Lenovo-Motorola remained in the top ten and saw a year-on-year decline, while it had strong growth in the Asia Pacific region, mainly in India. Huawei, on the other hand, recorded annual growth in smartphone shipments driven by demand for 4G-enabled phones in China.

Among the top ten brands, there are eight Chinese brands, but all of them, combined, recorded an annual decline of 13%, below the total market and the two main players.

The perspectives

Strategy Analytics predicts global smartphone shipments will decline 9% to 10% year-over-year for this entire year, CEO Linda Sui said. Geopolitical issues, economic recession, energy shortages and rising prices, added to exchange rate volatility and Covid disruption, will continue to weaken consumer demand and continue into the first half of next year.