Global smartphone shipments to hit lowest level in decade this year

Global smartphone shipments in 2023 are projected to decline 5 per cent (year-on-year) to reach 1.2 billion, the lowest level in almost a decade, a new report showed on Thursday.

However, the shipments are expected to increase by 3 per cent YoY in the fourth quarter this year to reach 312 million units, according to Counterpoint Research.

North America (NAM) and Europe’s shipments are expected to remain stagnant. However, China and emerging markets such as the Middle East and Africa (MEA) and India have managed to break out from their declines and will recover to become the new drivers of growth in the smartphone market from Q4 2023 onwards.

“India, maintaining its momentum for premiumisation, is expected to become Apple’s new growth focus. Apple’s India shipments are predicted to grow 23 per cent YoY in 2024,” said Associate Director Liz Lee said.

“However, due to its underperformance against Huawei in China, Apple’s global market share will unavoidably decline slightly YoY in Q4 2023 and across 2024,” Lee added.

Apple, the usual market leader in Q4 with its newly launched series, is expected to record a volume decline of 3 per cent YoY in Q4 2023, mainly due to Huawei’s aggressive expansion in China and prolonged delay in smartphone upgrades in Japan.

However, Apple will try to offset the underperformance in volume terms by growing in value terms with a better product mix.

After destocking efforts end with a relatively healthy inventory by the year-end, smartphone shipments in 2024 are projected to grow by 3 per cent YoY, said the report.

“We can also expect a recovery focused on emerging markets, backed by increasing consumer confidence and improving macroeconomic conditions,” it added.

Huawei, driven by its newly launched Mate 60 5G series and older P-series 4G devices, recorded an enormous success in Q3 2023.