Samsung retains top spot in smartphone market after selling 73m devices in Q1 2022

Samsung has retained its position as the top manufacturer in the smartphone market after selling more than 73 million devices in the first quarter of 2022 to command almost 24 per cent of the market.

The South Korean electronics giant took first place ahead of Apple which had claimed 18 per cent of the smartphone category after selling more than 56 million iPhones in the Q1 2022.

IDC (International Data Corporation) figures analysed by BanklessTimes says Samsung shipped 73.6 million smartphones in Q1 2022, more than any other brand – that was 17 million more than its closest rival Apple putting Samsung’s global market share at 23.4 per cent.

These Q1 figures were bolstered by sales of the Samsung Galaxy S22 line up which was launched in February 2022.

Analysts say Samsung established a leadership position in the smartphone market with the strategy of focusing on low and mid-tier models as well as on the end user experience.

The result is a wide range of products at various price points that generate significant volumes, according to BanklessTimes.

Apple’s 18 per cent market share in Q1 2022 is a 2.2 per cent jump above where the company sat 12 months earlier.

In fact, Apple was the only manufacturer in the smartphone sector that recorded growth.

Chinese brand Xiaomi came in third with 12.7 per cent market share after shipping 39.9 million units in Q1 2022.

But despite accounting for nearly 13 per cent of all global smartphone shipments, that figure is an 18 per cent drop in the company’s market share year on year.

Two other Chinese manufacturers, Oppo and Vivo, round out the top five smartphone suppliers by volume with Oppo registering 8.7 per cent share after shipping 27.4 million phones (a 27 per cent decline year on year) while Vivo plunged 28 per cent from a year earlier selling 25.3 million units to take them to 8.1 per cent of the global market.

According to IDC the global smartphone consignments dropped 8.9% year on year in Q1 2022 that’s the third straight quarter where smartphone shipments have declined.

IDC says the market decline is the result of bottlenecks in the supply chain for key components required for smartphone manufacturing.

Global inflation and economic uncertainties have also reduced consumer demand and spending, particularly in China.

The Russia Ukraine war has also created more market uncertainty and forced manufacturers to scale down growth predictions in 2022.

Analysts say Samsung and Apple have done a better job managing their supply chain issues then their competition and this has seen them sidestep the dramatic slumps other manufacturers have experienced.