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| China's mobile phone market is at a 10-year low |
Recent data shows that smartphone sales in China will reach an all-time high in 2022, down 13.2% year-on-year.
Market research firm IDC said sales fell to their lowest level in a decade after coronavirus containment measures and an economic slowdown discouraged consumers from spending on devices.
Total cellphone shipments are estimated at 285.8 million units, up from about 329 million in 2021, the lowest since 2013 and first annual sales of less than 300 million since then. to the report (IDC).
Strict coronavirus-related controls over the past year have had a significant impact on China's economy, but Beijing began lifting restrictions in December.
"Tighter containment of the epidemic has increased household savings, as consumers are less willing to spend," said Lucas Chung, who tracks China's smartphone industry for research firm Canalys.
The Chinese company Vivo is the best-selling mobile phone brand in 2022 with a market share of 18.6%, according to (IDC), however, total shipments decreased by 25.1% year-on-year.
Honor, which is owned by Huawei, ranked second with shipments of over 34%. The American company Apple ranked third with the Chinese company OPPO, which fell from fourth place last year.
Data (IDC) shows that Apple's total revenue fell 4.4% year-on-year, and with the exception of Honor, every competitor saw a double-digit decline in revenue.
Overall, the decline in smartphone sales in China mirrored the industry's performance globally. Global smartphone shipments are expected to reach 1.2 billion units in 2022, the lowest level since 2013.
Apple sold about 16.4 million devices in the fourth quarter of 2022, down 24% year over year, according to a separate report from Canalys on Sunday. Xiaomi's shipments decreased by 37.3%, while Honor's shipments decreased by 14.1%.
It should be noted that this is the first time that Apple shipments have reached China annually since the first wave of the Covid-19 virus swept the country in early 2020.
Canalys attributed the decline to the early launch of its latest iPhone line, as well as labor unrest at Apple's Foxconn factory in Jingzhou, China, which makes the iPhone, which affected the supply chain.