PH smartphone market had the biggest annual decline in 2022 –IDC

The Philippine smartphone market experienced the biggest annual drop in 2022, according to the International Data Corporation’s (IDC) Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker.

This decline—8.6% year over year (YoY)—saw the shipment of 16.3 million units in the same year.

The last quarter of 2022 did show a 6.3% quarter over quarter (QoQ) increase, but this was still 16.3% lower than the previous year as vendors sought to clear inventories rather than bringing more shipments during the holiday season due to the unfavorable market conditions.

Commenting on the situation, IDC Philippines Senior Market Analyst Angela Medez noted that, “Both consumer and vendor confidence have been seriously dampened as inflation progressively soared throughout 2022 ending the year at a 14-year high.”

realme held on to their top spot in 2022 by launching several new smartphones in the narzo series to meet the needs of the cost-conscious customer.

Meanwhile, Transsion was the only company in the Top 5 rankings to register growth. Its Infinix and Tecno brands saw an increase in higher priced models, such as the Note series from Infinix and the Pova and Camon series from Tecno.

Itel, on the other hand, continued to serve the entry-level segment.

Though inventory levels began to normalize at the close of 2022, IDC is still lowering its forecast for 2023 as vendors remain cautious in their shipments due to the current economic uncertainties and rising inflation, according to Medez.