Global smartphone shipments hit 10-year low in 2022

Global smartphone shipments last year declined to their lowest level in 10 years, showing how consumers closed their wallets amid the economic downturn.

The Singapore-based industry analysis company Canalys on Thursday said such shipments last year fell 11% from 2021 to under 120 million units. It expressed a highly cautious stance toward acquiring new inventory from distribution channels given lingering macroeconomic uncertainty.

Samsung Electronics Co. remained No. 1 on the market with a 22% share. The top five also featured runnerup Apple with 19%, Xiaomi 13%, and Oppo and Vivo 9% each.

Apple, however, outperformed Samsung Electronics in the last quarter, when shipments fell 17% from the fourth quarter in 2021 at the worst point for the market. Apple’s share in the fourth quarter was 25%, topping the Korean giant’s 20%.

Canalys forecast that this year’s smartphone market will stay flat or see minimal growth.

Write to Jeong-Soo Hwang at hjs@hankyung.com