Smartphone sales dive to 10-year low

China's smartphone sales fell 13 percent year-on-year in 2022, the largest plunge for the sector in a decade as consumers spent cautiously, market research firm IDC said yesterday.

The total number of devices shipped was 286 million, down from 329 million in 2022.

That meant total 2022 sales volume was the lowest since 2013 and the first time since then that annual sales have dropped below 300 million, IDC said in a report.

Android handset maker Vivo was the top-selling brand, with a market share of 18.6 percent. Its total shipments fell 25.1 percent year-on-year, however. Honor ranked second, with shipments growing more than 34 percent, albeit from a low base. Apple was third, tied with Oppo.

Apple's overall sales fell 4.4 percent year-on-year, broadly outperforming the market downturn.

In the final quarter of last year, despite being the top-selling brand in the three-month period, year-on-year sales for iPhones were still down, as supply chain issues caused by worker unrest at manufacturer Foxconn's plant in the city of Zhengzhou compounded worse-than expected demand, researchers wrote.

The plunge in smartphone sales in China reflected the sector's performance globally. In 2022, global smartphone shipments hit 1.2 billion, the lowest since 2013 and a year-on-year fall of more than 11 percent, according to IDC.