In the last year and a half, the smartphone market has been in a state of turmoil. Aside from the COVID-19 pandemic, Huawei’s exit from the top five vendors globally has shifted the global order of things. The industry is undergoing another huge disruption that could last until 2022. Still, according to one market analyst’s estimates, Apple has been able to capitalise on the situation and reclaim its position as the world’s second-largest smartphone manufacturer.
In the third quarter of 2021, the global smartphone market shrank by 6% compared to the previous year’s same period. Given the events of the previous 12 months, this shouldn’t come as much of a surprise. Smartphone demand may have peaked, but demand for PCs continues to climb, albeit more slowly.
Then there’s the question of supplying the market with enough cellphones. The “chipset famine” has arrived, according to Canalys, causing both semiconductor manufacturers and phone makers to scurry to reduce losses and prices. Foundries are even hiking pricing to dissuade people from ordering too many chips to prioritise the production lines. Meanwhile, smartphone manufacturers are making last-minute changes to order amounts and even device specifications, adding confusion.
Despite this, Apple was the overwhelming winner in the last three months of 2021, which ended in September. While the increase from 12% to 15% may appear insignificant, it was enough to relegate Xiaomi to the third position as its 14 per cent market share remained unchanged. Samsung’s year-on-year growth stayed at 23 per cent, while vivo and OPPO both increased by 1 per cent.
Unfortunately, the market research firm is not optimistic about the smartphone sector, expecting a shortfall that would endure until 2022. Manufacturers, sellers, and retail outlets are nervously anticipating the forthcoming sales holidays, rather than the eager anticipation they usually have each year, due to supply and demand uncertainty.
Source: canalys
