Smartphones in the 3rd trimester

According to analysts, the smartphone market is among those that adapt faster to the macro trends underway, with users postponing the updating of terminals to divert spending on more essential goods. This is due to concerns about inflation, war and fears of an economic recession.

Samsung is confirmed as the first manufacturer in the world with a market share of 22%, up slightly from 21% last year, thanks to a substantial campaign of discounts and promotions.

In second place, Apple shortens the gap because it goes from 15% of the market in the third quarter of 2021, to the current 18%. This is because the demand for the new iPhone 14, especially Pro, is still sustained. It is worth noting that Apple and Samsung are the only two brands to experience an increase in the listed market. In fact, Xiaomi in third place remains stable at 14%, vice versa the other two top manufacturers and in general the other brands register a decline. Oppo goes from 11% in 2021 to a market share of 10% in the third quarter of 2022, Vivo drops from 11% to 9%, while all other brands go from 28% to 27%. The hope is that the readings on smartphones are more reliable than those on Mac shipments which showed huge gaps depending on the analytics company.

“The smartphone market is highly sensitive to consumer demand and vendors are quickly adjusting to tough business conditions,” said Canalys analyst Amber Liu. For most suppliers, the priority is to reduce the risk of inventory build-up due to the slowdown in demand. Suppliers had significant inventory as of July, but the sell-out has gradually improved since September due to aggressive discounts and promotions. The pricing strategy for new products is carefully crafted, even for Apple, to avoid significant rejection by consumers who now tend to be very sensitive to 64.1 of the 301.2 million smartphones shipped between July and September are Samsung-branded: the South Korean brand grows by 3 percentage points compared to the previous quarter but falls by 7.4% year on year. Its market share is stable at 21%.