Global smartphone market sales dip 8% in Q3 to record 10-year low

[Courtesy of Huawei]

Sales in the global smartphone market fell to their lowest level in a decade in the third quarter of 2023, Reuters reported on Monday local time.

According to a recent report by market research firm Counterpoint, sales in the global smartphone market declined 8 percent from the same period last year on falling demand for major brands, such as Apple and Samsung Electronics, in most developed markets.

Third-quarter sales have been dropping year after year for a tenth consecutive year.

The market share of the top five brands, including China’s Xiaomi, Oppo, and Vivo, as well as Apple and Samsung Electronics, also fell to a three-year low.

The report projects that Samsung Electronics Co., which leads the global smartphone market with a 20 percent market share, will see a 13 percent decline in sales this quarter, followed by a 9 percent for Apple Inc., and that it could reduce future profits for the major players.

In contrast, China’s Huawei Technologies Co., which launched the Mate 60 Pro, a smartphone equipped with home-produced advanced chips early this year despite tough U.S. sanctions, saw its market share increase.

While sales were down from last year, they are up 2 percent from the previous second quarter and the year-over-year decline that persisted over the past two years could stop in the fourth quarter, the report said.

The report added the iPhone 15 series, which Apple began selling last month, as a key driver for recovery in the sales of developed markets such as the United States, Europe, and South Korea, and predicted that the momentum will continue through the end of the year when the product is fully rolled out.

The festive season in India, the Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival, and local year-end promotions are also expected to help the market recover, according to the report.

Despite the sales slump, in the meantime, the Middle East and Africa posted positive growth from a year ago this quarter, the report added.