Edited by: Bharat Upadhyay
Last updated: January 26, 2023, 4:17 PM IST
Other major smartphone brands suffered similar double-digit setbacks.
Apple shipped 72.3 million iPhones in the December quarter, a year-over-year decline of 85 million units, representing a 14.9 percent drop in shipments compared to the year-ago quarter.
Global smartphone shipments fell 18.3 percent in the December quarter compared to a year earlier, to just over 300 million units in the fourth quarter of 2022. The decline marks the largest single-quarter drop ever recorded and contributed to a steep 11, 3 percent percent decline for the year, International Data Corporation (IDC) said in a report released late Wednesday.
According to the report, U.S.-based tech giant Apple shipped 72.3 million iPhones in the December quarter, down from 85 million units year over year, representing a 14.9 percent decline compared to the same quarter a year. past.
There were major smartphone brands that faced similar double-digit setbacks. Samsung’s shipments fell 15.6 percent year-over-year, and Chinese mobile makers OPPO and vivo suffered nearly similar declines, with Xiaomi the worst performer during the quarter with shipments down 26.3 percent.
“We have never seen shipments fall in the holiday quarter compared to the previous quarter. However, weaker demand and high inventories caused suppliers to drastically cut back on shipments. Heavy sales and promotions during the quarter helped to expand existing inventory. sinks rather than driving shipment growth,” said Nabila Popal, research director with IDC’s Worldwide Tracker team.
Popal also said suppliers are becoming increasingly cautious in their shipping and scheduling as they realign their focus on profitability. Even Apple, seemingly immune so far, suffered a setback in its supply chain with unforeseen lockdowns at its key factories in China.
“What this holiday quarter tells us is that rising inflation and growing macroeconomic concerns are hampering consumer spending even more than expected and continue to delay any potential recovery until the end of 2023,” she added.
According to Anthony Scarsella, director of research at IDC, with sales down more than 11 percent in 2022 for the year, 2023 will be a year of caution as vendors will rethink their device portfolio, while channels will think twice before taking on excess inventory.
“On the positive side, however, consumers may find even more generous trade-in offers and promotions well into 2023 as the market will devise new methods to incentivize upgrades and sell more devices, particularly high-end models,” Scarsella said.
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