China’s smartphone gross sales endured a file fall in 2022, tumbling 13 p.c to their lowest degree in a decade as COVID controls and a slowing financial system sapped client urge for food, information from third-party analysis companies confirmed.
The entire variety of units shipped was 286 million, down from 329 million in 2021. It was the bottom gross sales quantity since 2013 and the primary time since then that annual gross sales have dropped under 300 million, IDC stated in a report.
Strict COVID-19 controls weighed closely on the Chinese language financial system final yr however Beijing began dismantling the restrictions in December, boosting consumption.
“The strict pandemic management coverage has resulted in traditionally excessive family financial savings as client spending turned conservative,” stated Lucas Zhong, who tracks China’s smartphone sector for analysis agency Canalys.
Android handset maker Vivo was the top-selling model in 2022, with a market share of 18.6 p.c, in response to IDC. Its whole shipments fell 25.1 p.c year-on-year.
Huawei Applied sciences spin-off Honor ranked because the second best-selling model, with shipments rising greater than 34 p.c, albeit from a low base.
Apple was the third best-selling telephone model in 2022, tied with Oppo, transferring up from fourth place within the earlier yr.
Apple’s total gross sales fell 4.4 p.c year-on-year, in response to IDC, whereas all different rivals excluding Honor noticed gross sales fall within the double digits.
Total, the plunge in smartphone gross sales in China mirrored the sector’s efficiency globally. In 2022, international smartphone shipments will hit 1.2 billion, the bottom since 2013 and a year-on-year decline of greater than 11 p.c, in response to IDC.
A separate report from Canalys revealed on Monday stated that within the fourth quarter of 2022, Apple bought 16.4 million units, down 24 p.c year-on-year. This in comparison with a 37.3 p.c shipments droop from Xiaomi and Honor’s 14.1 p.c fall throughout the identical quarter.
That marks the primary time Apple shipments dropped year-on-year in China since early 2020, when the primary wave of COVID-19 swept the nation. The autumn was brought on by an earlier launch of the newest iPhone collection in addition to by employee unrest at its main producer Foxconn’s plant within the metropolis of Zhengzhou that impacted its provide chain, Canalys stated.
Nonetheless, Apple remained the top-selling telephone maker in China within the quarter, hitting record-high market share, Canalys added.