IDC: realme PH still on top in midst of weaker smartphone demand for Q1 2022

Despite an earlier forecast showing strong growth for the smartphone market entering into 2022, the International Data Corporation (IDC) reports that smartphone demand in the Philippines weakened for the first quarter of 2022.

A total of 3.9 million units were sold in the Philippines during the period, representing a decline of 7.1 percent on a year-to-year (YoY) basis and 21.6 percent on a quarterly (QoQ) basis, respectively.

“While 5G smartphones have increased to almost 20 percent of total shipments in 1Q22, 4G Android smartphones fell 16.3 percent YoY and 24.4 percent QoQ due to tight supplies, with smartphones priced less than USD 200PHP 11,737INR 16,950EUR 190CNY 1,456 impacted the most,” said Angela Medez, Client Devices Market Analyst at IDC Philippines.

“Supply disruptions are expected to challenge vendors in meeting their targets for 2022, but we may see some improvements towards the end of the year,” Medez added. “The silver lining could be the acceleration of 5G smartphones in the Philippines as vendors focus on their 5G portfolio to drive growth.”

Realme keeps the highest market share for five consecutive quarters with 20.2 percent. While realme’s market share remains above 20 percent (it was 20.6 percent in Q4 2021), the decline on an annual basis would amount to double digits at 11.6 percent.

Transsion, which has Tecno and Infinix under its wing, has risen to second place with 19.8 percent. Their 5G offerings apparently had a warm reception in the Philippines, as 11 percent of 5G phone shipments to the country were from them. IDC cited plans by Infinix to strengthen its offline presence outside the Manila area.

Samsung also emerged with a higher ranking as it placed third with 16.8 percent. Their market share growth was quite evident, posting a 2.4 percent increase on a quarterly basis and a 7.6 percent increase on an annual basis.

Xiaomi, which has Redmi and POCO under its wing, reenters the top five this quarter. With a market share of 14.2 percent, it secured the fourth spot in the IDC ranking, representing double digit growth in both yearly and quarterly bases. Nearly 90 percent of its shipments were composed of 4G smartphones.

OPPO, meanwhile, shows a sharper decline than realme. Landing fifth for Q1 2022, the launch of its Reno7 boosted its 5G share, accounting for 17.7 percent of their total shipments.

The IDC Mobile Quarterly Phone Tracker covers more than 350 vendors in over 100 countries globally. Forecasts for this tracker include historical data, up to two years of quarterly forecasts, and an additional three years of annual market projections. You can access the full quarterly report for Q1 2022 here.

While IDC anticipates eventual recovery in the smartphone market with sales of 5G capable devices picking up later in the year, Opensignal’s Mobile Network Experience Report released last April shows that much remains to be done in expanding 5G coverage in the Philippines.

“Turning to 5G Availability, Smart has the largest haul, winning outright in three out of four regions — Calabarzon, Central Luzon and Metropolitan Manila — and tying with Globe for first place in Central Visayas. A very similar story plays out for 5G Reach, with the only difference being that Globe and Smart tie for first place in Metropolitan Manila,” the report stated.

Citing that third mobile operator DITO has yet to commercially launch its 5G service, Opensignal saw Smart and Globe competing for 5G availability and reach among Filipinos.

For Smart, 5G availability is highest in Metro Manila, with 5G users being connected 19.7 percent of the time. In comparison, Smart’s nationwide average would be at 14.4 percent. Globe, meanwhile, posted its highest 5G availability score in Central Visayas with 13.3 percent. This compared to its 8.8 percent on average nationwide.

In terms of 5G reach, Smart’s advantage is smaller at 4.4 points, with 10 being the highest, as against Globe’s 3.5 points. As a point of comparison, South Korea’s telecom providers ranged between 6.2 (KT, LG U+) and 6.6 (SK Telecom) in this scale as of 2021, while telecom providers in the United States ranged between 3.7 (Verizon) and 7.4 (T-Mobile) in this scale as of 2022.

According to Opensignal, 5G availability refers to the proportion of time Opensignal users with a 5G device and a 5G subscription had an active 5G connection. On the other hand, 5G reach measures how users experience the geographical extent of an operator’s 5G network.