The smartphone market is expected to see low growth in 2023

The coming year could be tough for the smartphone industry due to lower shipments and market pressures, researchers at market analysis firm Canalys predict.

In the last three months of 2022, global smartphone shipments fell 17% and full-year shipments fell 11%, according to a report from Canalys on Tuesday. Canalys Research analyst Runar Bjørhovde called it “the worst annual and fourth-quarter performance in a decade.”

Last year’s fourth quarter performance is nothing like 2021, when the smartphone industry saw increased demand and fewer supply chain issues, the report said.

Apple took first place in the fourth quarter with 25% market share, followed by Samsung at 20% and Xiaomi at 11%.

The firm predicts “flat to marginal growth” for the market in 2023 without expecting conditions to ease anytime soon. The tech industry faces an uncertain 2023 amid inflation, rising interest rates and widespread layoffs that signal a tough economy ahead. Although shipments are not the same as sales, they are a market indicator for the smartphone industry as a whole.

“While inflationary pressures will gradually ease, the effects of interest rate hikes, economic slowdowns and an increasingly troubled labor market will limit market potential,” said analyst Le Xuan Chiew in the report.