The global smartphone market has declined by 7% YoY in Q1 2022 as per Counterpoint Market Monitor Service. The smartphone shipment in the first quarter of the year was 328.3 million units. This number sat at 354.9 million units in the same quarter last year.
Not just the global smartphone shipment is down YoY; the industry has also seen a sharp decline in QoQ. The smartphone sales were down 12% in Q1 2022 if we compare it with Q4 2021. The smartphone shipment was 371.4 million in the last quarter.
Global smartphone shipment down
Samsung has snatched the top spot from Apple in Q1 2022 with a total smartphone shipment of 74 million units. Although the South Korean giant managed to cement its first spot, the shipments were down 3% YoY.
However, with the launch of the Galaxy S22 series, Samsung shipments grew 7% QoQ. Samsung smartphone shipments are close to the pre-pandemic level now. With 59 million shipments in Q1 2022, Apple is in the second spot.
The iPhone shipments are flat as the company had sold 59 million units in the same quarter last year. Apple’s overall market share has risen to 18%, up 17% in Q1 2021. As expected, iPhone shipments saw a drop of 28% QoQ due to season sales in the last quarter.
Xiaomi is in the third spot with a total shipment of 39 million. The company’s market share has fallen to 12% from 14% in the same quarter last year. Oppo, which also included OnePlus, now is in fourth place with 30.9 million units shipped last quarter. Oppo spin-off Realme also had a strong quarter as the company sold 14.5 million units.
Another BBK electronics brand Vivo is in the fifth spot with a 28.6 million smartphone shipment. Transsion Group, which owns smartphone brands like Infinix and Techno, has also continued its growth by 23% YoY. Honor’s shipments, on the other hand, saw a sharp 148% YOY increase to 16 million units.
As per the Counterpoint research, the decline in smartphone shipments is mainly due to chip shortage, a surge in COVID-19 cases, and the Russia-Ukraine war. What do you guys think about why smartphone sales are declining? Is the global smartphone market down because of a lack of innovation too? Do let us know in the comments.
