Cult status lost

What happened to smartphones? Have they lost their role in shaping social status? Have they become more boring? Maybe the high price is to blame, which, due to inflation, has become unattainable for a large number of buyers against the backdrop of adult spending?

Whatever the reason, the result is unmistakable. Since reaching the highest point in 2016, global smartphone sales have steadily declined. Last year, only 1.2 billion of the planet’s inhabitants bought new devices, but this year, the number is likely to be even lower. Only about 850 million smartphones were sold in the first three quarters, and the dynamics suggest that a special breakthrough is not expected before Christmas either. The caution of consumers is quite clearly illustrated by the fact that the third quarter of this year was the dullest in terms of trade volumes in the last ten years, the agency reports Reuters. This is certainly not encouraging news for manufacturers, because usually the new models are intensively presented in the fall, in order to actively market them before the anniversary celebration.

DEMAND IS FALLING

Reuters estimates that global smartphone sales fell by eight percent in the third quarter compared to July, August and September of the previous year. All the big players have been seriously affected by the silence in the market. Apple the drop is said to be 8%, Samsung – as much as 13%, even for Chinese manufacturers, the sales volume is at the level of the first year of the pandemic.

However, it does not bring significant corrections in the overall market picture. Leading market analyst centers estimate that the leading position with 20% market share is maintained Samsung. The second with 17% is Apple, which traditionally overtakes the Koreans for a while at the end of the year, as they release the latest iPhone model every fall. The next three places are Chinese brands: Xiaomi with 14%, as well as OPPO and Vivo. 9% for both. The remaining third is shared by all other manufacturers, which include Huawei, Sony, Nokia, Motorola, LG, Lenovo and many other brands.