Apple and Samsung are weathering the disruption well, but the entire mobile industry is suffering from the current downturn.
The smartphone market experienced a decline in sales of around 11% in the first quarter of 2022 compared to the same period last year, a report from the analysis firm Canalys tells us.
Towards the end of component shortages?
This drop can be explained by several reasons, according to expert Nicole Peng. First, Covid-19 has once again caused containments and shutdowns of production and assembly lines in China, where most of the inventory is manufactured.
To this must be added the uncertainty caused by the war in Ukraine and the threat of inflation, which do not encourage consumers to spend money on renewing their mobile equipment.
Canalys nevertheless concludes its report with a touch of optimism by indicating that the shortage of components which has lasted for two years now is on the point of being absorbed, and that manufacturers could therefore have more interesting room for maneuver in terms of innovation and value for money.
Apple and Samsung cash in better
The consequences of weaker demand have spared the two behemoths of the sector, Samsung and Apple, which both gained market share during the first quarter of 2022. Samsung takes almost a quarter of sales (24% ) over the first three months of the year, up two points compared to 2021. For its part, Apple has increased its market share from 15 to 18%.
If the two rivals remain leaders in the premium segment, they rather owe this good performance of their sales thanks to their mid-range models. Samsung has managed to ramp up with its Galaxy A range, while Apple can count on the success of its iPhone SE to convince users.
Xiaomi (13%) and OPPO (10%, including sales of OnePlus smartphones) lost one point of market share, Vivo fell from 10 to 8%. In this troubled period, more traditional brands are doing better than Chinese players.
Source : Canalys
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