The latest report from the IDC Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker showed that the smartphone market in China fell 13.2% to a decade low in 2022. According to the data, 285.8 million smartphones were shipped in the country last year, marking the first time in ten years that the number of shipments has fallen below 300 million.
Strict COVID Policy and Economic Slowdown Take Toll on Smartphone Market
The strict COVID policy and economic slowdown in China in 2022 are said to have discouraged demand for smartphones, resulting in a sharp decline in shipments. Despite smartphones being nearly ubiquitous in China today, the market size has fallen near the levels seen ten years ago, when two out of five mobile phone shipments were still feature phones.
Honor Emerges as Only Top 5 Player to Achieve Growth
The report showed that Honor was the only top 5 player to achieve growth in 2022, thanks to its aggressive product portfolio development and low comparison base year. In the fourth quarter of 2022, Apple's iPhone assembly facility in Zhengzhou managed to return to its normal pace, allowing the company to maintain a seasonal quarter-on-quarter (QoQ) growth.
Market Experts Raise Alarm for Smartphone Vendors to Rethink Strategy
Will Wong, Senior Research Manager for Client Devices at IDC Asia/Pacific, warned that the historically low shipments should raise an alarm for smartphone vendors to rethink their business model and marketing strategy. Wong added that although the end of the zero-COVID policy provides a tailwind to the market, a quick rebound is unlikely as consumers spend their money on other areas such as leisure and services.
The smartphone market in China has fallen to a decade low in 2022, with shipments falling 13.2% YoY to 285.8 million. The strict COVID policy and economic slowdown are said to have discouraged demand, leading to the sharp decline in shipments. Honor was the only top 5 player to achieve growth in the market, while Apple's iPhone assembly facility in Zhengzhou managed to return to normal production in the fourth quarter of 2022. Market experts have warned that the historically low shipments should raise an alarm for smartphone vendors to rethink their business model and marketing strategy.
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