Our Q3 2022 Market Monitor report has been published. We release one infographic each quarter to summarize the smartphone market activities in a single page.
Some quick observations on the smartphone market:
The global smartphone market declined by 12% YoY but grew 3% QoQ to 301.9 million units in Q3 2022.
Apple was the only top-five smartphone brand to grow YoY.
Samsung’s shipments declined by 7% YoY in Q3 2022, even though it’s shares were constant from last quarter.
OPPO* and vivo are still in a double digit YoY declines in their respective shipments.
Asia Pacific alone contributes 52.3% in smartphone market followed by Europe with 14% share.
Use the button below to download the high resolution PDF of the infographic:
LATAM smartphone shipments decreased 13% YoY and 17.3% QoQ in Q3 2022.
All the top brands’ volumes declined QoQ, except for OPPO.
Samsung led the market with a 40% share, followed by Motorola with a 22% share.
The >$700 price band saw the highest growth.
Buenos Aires, New Delhi, Hong Kong, Seoul, London, Beijing, San Diego – December 12, 2022
The Latin American and Caribbean smartphone shipments fell 13% YoY and 17.3% QoQ in Q3 2022, according to the latest research from Counterpoint’s Market Monitor service. All the top brands’ volumes declined QoQ, except for OPPO.
Commenting on the market, Principal Analyst Tina Lu said, “Q3 2022 shipments were impacted by high inventories carried over from Q2 2022. During the previous quarter, several OEMs pushed high shipment volumes, but consumer demand was slowing down. Therefore, it resulted in excess inventories in most sales channels, and Q3 2022 mainly corrected it. But still, the issue has not been completely fixed and the sales channels will feel the pain of higher-than-acceptable inventories in Q4 2022 too.”
Lu added, “Consumer demand remains weak in LATAM. The regional economic crisis, triggered by high inflation, currency depreciation and a change in political power, resulted in a sharp decrease in consumer demand. OEMs, operators and retailers have all launched aggressive promotional bundles or double-digit discounts to increase sales.”
Research Analyst Andres Silva noted, “Samsung and Xiaomi were the biggest share gainers YoY during the quarter. Samsung remained the absolute leader in the region and all the individual countries. Xiaomi continued to grow by entering new countries and expanding both the operator and its own retail channels. This drove Xiaomi’s share and shipment volume growth in the region.”
Commenting on the price band performance, Silva said, “Despite the economic crisis, the >$700 price band saw the highest growth. Apple and Samsung’s flagships drove the growth of this segment. On the other hand, the <$150 price segment saw the biggest drop YoY, reflecting the lack of adequate entry-level smartphone supplies from the biggest brands, especially Motorola.”
Top Smartphone OEMs’ Market Share in Latin America, Q3 2021 vs Q3 2022
Source: Counterpoint Research Market Monitor, Q3 2022
Q3 2022 Market Summary
Amid weakened consumer sentiment and massive shipments in Q2 2022, Samsung’s high inventory impacted its shipments in Q3 2022. On the other hand, demand for low-end and low-to-mid-end devices remained robust, showing a flat YoY volume growth.
Motorola’s shipments fell 6% QoQ as its entry-level models were in short supply. Motorola also dropped YoY as it had an exceptional quarter in Q3 2021. The brand’s performance was particularly hit in Brazil, Argentina and Mexico. The recently launched Edge 30 flagship series also failed to click with consumers.
Xiaomi’s shipments rose 15% YoY driven by the Redmi Note 11, which has proven to be the rising star. However, high inventory in operator channels and low demand in certain countries like Peru resulted in a QoQ shipment drop.
Apple saw only a slight volume decrease YoY despite the launch of the new iPhone. But the iPhone 14 was launched late in the region even as Colombia imposed restrictions on 5G iPhone imports. The good demand for the iPhone 11 helped soften the fall. Apple is expected to improve its performance over the next quarter.
OPPO’s share rose one percentage point QoQ driven by the launch of the new Reno 7 in the region. Mexico and Colombia helped the brand navigate overall market softness.
The region’s smartphone market is becoming more concentrated. The top three brands represented 69% of the shipments in Q3 2021 and 75% in Q3 2022. While the new Chinese entrants are facing a tough time in such a market, it is the regional and smaller brands that are suffering the most.
The “others” category decreased in volume and share YoY. Big brands, with their deeper pockets for promotions and better negotiation power, are making it tough for smaller brands.
Background
Counterpoint Technology Market Research is a global research firm specializing in products in the TMT (technology, media and telecom) industry. It services major technology and financial firms with a mix of monthly reports, customized projects and detailed analyses of the mobile and technology markets. Its key analysts are seasoned experts in the high-tech industry.
Over the last few months, various OEMs have been busy touting their sustainability credentials. At the launch of its latest foldable smartphones in early August, Samsung emphasised its ‘Galaxy for the Planet’ initiative, a sustainability platform which establishes a set of targets to be reached by 2025 to reduce Samsung’s environmental footprint and lessen resource depletion from production to disposal of its Galaxy products. And in early September, HMD Global introduced ‘Circular’, a new sustainability subscription service that aims to give Nokia devices a second life through recycling, refurbishing and re-subscribing. Then, at its launch event last week, Apple went to great lengths to outline the eco-friendliness of its new devices.
Let’s take the iPhone 14 Pro as an example. Using Apple’s own words, the iPhone 14 Pro is “designed to minimise its impact on the environment, with 100% recycled rare earth elements used in all magnets, including those used in MagSafe, and 100% recycled tungsten in the Taptic Engine. The model also includes 100% recycled tin in the solder of multiple printed circuit boards, and 100% recycled gold in the plating of multiple printed circuit boards and in the wire of all cameras. Fiber-based packaging does not use outer plastic wrap, bringing Apple closer to its goal of completely removing plastic from all packaging by 2025”.
Sustainability highlights of the iPhone 14 Pro
Source: Apple
All the focus on recycled materials has resulted in a drop in carbon emissions throughout the new devices’ life cycles compared to last years’ iterations. For example, the iPhone 14 has a carbon footprint of 61kg of CO2e, down from 64kg for the iPhone 13, and the iPhone 14 Pro has a carbon footprint of 65kg of CO2e compared to 69kg for the iPhone 13 Pro. This reduction in carbon footprint is mostly down to the increased use of recycled materials and a more efficient supply chain, meaning that the production proportion of the phone’s life cycle has dropped by as much as 10%.
One concerning point, however, was the increase in carbon emissions through the use of the new devices. This is especially true with the iPhone 14 Pro, where carbon emissions through use have increased by 18% compared to the iPhone 13 Pro (9.8kg CO2e versus 8.3kg CO2e). This could be down to the iPhone 14 Pro’s use of the new A16 Bionic chip, although Apple claim the A16 is 15-20% more efficient than the A15. Perhaps then it is due to the slightly upgraded Pro Motion display?
Carbon footprints for current and previous iPhones
Source: Apple
Another interesting point is how much of the carbon footprint is accounted for by the manufacturing of the devices (around 80%). Yes, this is on the way down, but still accounts for the vast proportion of the phone’s life cycle. It is heartening, therefore, to see that iPhones are the most popular second-hand phones globally. Refurbished iPhones are a great way to ensure that the significant carbon emissions of producing a new iPhone go towards multiple lives of the device, not just one.
Refurbished smartphone sales, 2021
Source: Counterpoint Research
Apple also reiterated its carbon neutrality goals: by 2030, Apple plans to be 100% carbon neutral across its entire manufacturing supply chain and all product life cycles. This means that every Apple device sold, from component manufacturing, assembly, transport, customer use, charging, all the way through recycling and material recovery, will have net-zero climate impact. Setting ambitious goals such as this is vital in creating a sustainable future for the smartphone industry. With Apple’s resources and momentum, its target looks achievable.
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