Smartphone shipments fell 11% in Q1, the most since Covid
TAIPEI: Smartphone shipments fell 11% in the first quarter, the worst drop since the coronavirus outbreak, after inflation fears, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and the Omicron variant derailed an unsteady recovery for the sector.
Samsung Electronics Co. reclaimed the lead from Apple Inc. with a 24% share, according to Canalys market data, with Chinese vendors Xiaomi Corp., Oppo and Vivo filling out the top five in roughly the same proportion as they did a year ago.
The major slowdown was party because of China’s pursuit of a covid-zero policy that has impacted both demand and supply in the world’s biggest
smartphone market, with the domestic manufacturers struggling to even secure components for their entry-level devices,
according to researchers.
“The markets saw a spike in covid-19 cases because of the Omicron variant,” said Canalys
vice president Nicole Peng.
“Vendors face major uncertainty because of the Russiaukraine war, China’s rolling lockdowns and the threat of inflation. All this added to traditionally slow seasonal demand,” Peng said.
China’s quarterly production of semiconductors shrank for the first time since early 2019 as consumer electronics demand softened and covid-triggered lockdowns in regions including Shanghai disrupted output, the official figures showed this week.
Component shortages may improve sooner than expected, however, and provide cost relief to manufacturers, Peng said.
Global smartphone demand is likely to be curbed by an inflationary environment, according to Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Woo Jin Ho, who expects 2022 sales of roughly $527 billion, little changed from last year and 4% below IDC’S target.