In a global market that will fall 11% in 2022, Samsung and Apple are doing well and making progress. All of its top 5 rivals Xiaomi, Oppo and Vivo are falling behind.
Do we take the same and start again? Yes and no. So who won the pom pom among smartphone makers in 2022? The surprise is not great. According to analyst firm Canalys, which is based on the number of phones shipped from factories around the world, the three champions are the same as last year: Samsung in the lead, then Apple and Xiaomi. we meet behind Oppo and Vivo neck and neck.
If the ranking has not changed, the figures reveal an unfailing dominance of the first two. While Xiaomi loses a point from 14 to 13%, Oppo and Vivo plummet to 9% of global sales, Samsung increases from 20 to 22% and Apple from 17 to 19%.
One would be quickly tempted to say that the two leading giants have won it all, but things are not that simple. The number of smartphone shipments in 2022 dropped dramatically by 11% to less than 1.2 billion.
Apple undisputed champion of the fourth quarter
If it’s become a cliché that Apple generally dominates the fourth quarter thanks to the iPhone release schedule, it’s also worth noting that Apple is having an even more exceptional end of the year. In 2020 and 2021, the Apple brand finished in the lead with 23% of the market share. This year, it ranks 25% of sales.
Samsung does not detract and advances, going from 19 to 20% in the fourth quarter, like Oppo in the fourth position that evolves positively from 9 to 10%. Xiaomi narrowly retains its third place with 11% and Vivo keeps 8% of sales.
How to explain such performances?
One would be tempted to quickly accuse the lack of innovation of the brands to explain this collapse, but the analysis firm for its part points the finger at a difficult economic context. “Smartphone vendors have struggled in a challenging macroeconomic environment throughout 2022. The fourth quarter marks the worst annual and quarterly performance in a decade.”says Runar Bjørhovde, an analyst at Canalys. The firm forecasts that 2023 will be just as difficult.
“While inflationary pressures are gradually easing, the effects of interest rate hikes, economic downturns and an increasingly difficult job market will limit market potential.added Le Xuan Chiew, an analyst at Canalys. “This will have a negative impact on saturated markets, dominated by the mid-range and high-end, such as Western Europe. »
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