The smartphone industry is recording a historic low with a sharp drop in sales of around 11.3 percent for the year 2022. The last time so few smartphones were sold was nine years ago. There seem to be several reasons for this.
Big losers come from China
Just a few months ago, experts were sure that well-known manufacturers such as Xiaomi, Oppo or Vivo would conquer the smartphone world. But Corona and the semiconductor crisis seem to have been a real burden, especially for the Chinese brands. Thus, they had to live with 20 percent fewer smartphones sold. But the phenomenon affects the entire market. A look at the fourth quarter of 2022 in particular seems frightening. Here, all manufacturers according to IDC recorded an average drop in sales of a whopping 18.3 percent.
Things look a bit better when you look at the annual average. This is down 11.3 percent compared to 2021. In the calendar, you have to travel a long way back in time to observe such poor sales figures. For example, the last time 1.2 billion smartphones were sold was in 2013, about the same number as in 2022. The industry and flagship kings Samsung and Apple are also affected by the problem. However, they are still getting off lightly with a four percent decline.
Savings potential for smartphones possible in 2023
Meanwhile, the discrepancy in the figures between the first quarter of 2022 and the rest of the year seems somewhat surprising. Here, the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine probably seems to play a decisive role. After all, people are trying to save money in the wake of inflation and rising energy costs. People prefer to keep their smartphone, which is still working well, a bit longer before they decide to upgrade. It is possible that this trend toward more sustainability in end devices could be a step in the right direction. Discarded smartphones still account for a large share of electronic waste.
The shrinking sales figures are not only a disaster for smartphone manufacturers. Suppliers are also struggling with problems. In particular, memory manufacturers like Kioxia or Western Digital, which will most likely go their own ways in the future, are feeling the effects. After all, with fewer smartphones being sold, the demand for suitable memory modules is also decreasing. IDC, which has made the statistics public, has good news for end customers, however. Not only do they currently benefit from a real price drop of storage media like SSDs. On top of that, some attractive price reductions for smartphones could come our way in the course of the year. Especially those interested in upcoming flagships like the OnePlus 11 should be happy about this news.
