Apple Led Smartphone Shipments in Q4 2022, Samsung Top Earner in 2022

The global smartphone market has been plagued by many concerns and shipments have continued to fall. According to the latest report by Canalys, 2022 was an extremely challenging year for all brands as shipments declined by 11% compared to 2021.

However, in Q4 2022, Apple emerged as the top brand in the world edging out Samsung. Samsung, on the other hand, was the biggest brand for the year 2022, according to Canalys.

These are the top 5 smartphone players in the world

According to the Canalys report, Apple garnered 25% quarterly market share — its highest ever — and became the top brand in Q4. Apple faced a lot of issues in the quarter as there were Covid-19 lockdowns in Zhengzhou and other unrest, which hampered its manufacturing. Canalys also said that Apple achieved the numbers despite facing “shrinking demand”.

Samsung had a 20% market share in Q4 and took the second spot. However, for the full year, it was the biggest smartphone brand with the most shipments. Xiaomi’s market share fell to 11% in Q4 but it managed to retain the third spot.

The Chinese smartphone maker has faced some challenges in India. Oppo and Vivo rounded out the top five, taking 10% and 8% market shares respectively.

For the year 2022, Samsung had a 22% market share whereas Apple had 19%. Xiaomi, Oppo and Vivo completed the top 5 list with 13%, 9% and 9% market share respectively.

“Smartphone vendors have struggled in a difficult macroeconomic environment throughout 2022. Q4 marks the worst annual and Q4 performance in a decade,” said Canalys Research Analyst Runar Bjørhovde.

According to Bjørhovde, while low-to-mid-range demand fell fast in previous quarters, high-end demand began to show weakness in Q4. “The market’s performance in Q4 2022 stands in stark contrast to Q4 2021, which saw surging demand and easing supply issues,” added the Canalys analyst.

Canalys forecasts flat to marginal growth for the smartphone market in 2023, with conditions expected to remain tough. “Though inflationary pressures will gradually ease, the effects of interest rate hikes, economic slowdowns and an increasingly struggling labor market will limit the market’s potential,” added Chiew.

“This will adversely affect saturated, mid-to-high-end-dominated markets, such as Western Europe and North America. While China’s re-opening will improve domestic consumer and business confidence, government stimuli are only likely to show effects in six to nine months and demand in China will remain challenging in the short term.

Still, some regions are likely to grow in the second half of 2023, with Southeast Asia in particular expected to see some economic recovery and a resurgence of tourism in China helping to drive business activities.”

January 18, 2023