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Apple tops fourth-quarter smartphone vendor rankings as 2022 global shipments fall 11 per cent on continued weak consumer demand
- Apple overcame iPhone supply chain disruptions in China to achieve its highest ever quarterly global smartphone market share at 25 per cent
- Samsung finished behind Apple in the fourth quarter, but led the smartphone industry in overall shipments last year with a 22 per cent share
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Che Panin Beijing
Apple overcame supply chain disruptions in China to reclaim the top spot in fourth-quarter global smartphone vendor rankings, as the industry’s overall shipments in 2022 fell 11 per cent on weak consumer demand that is expected to continue in 2023.
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US tech giant Apple achieved its highest ever quarterly market share at 25 per cent, according to the latest smartphone shipment report released on Wednesday by research firm Canalys. Total worldwide smartphone shipments, however, fell 17 per cent year on year in the December quarter.
The world’s most valuable company, with a US$2.3 trillion valuation at the end of December, pulled that feat amid shrinking smartphone demand worldwide and manufacturing issues in Zhengzhou, capital of central Henan province, where the world’s largest iPhone factory is located.
Samsung Electronics finished the quarter behind Apple with a 20 per cent share, but led the industry in overall shipments last year with a 22 per cent share, according to Canalys. Chinese smartphone giants Xiaomi Corp, Oppo and Vivo rounded out the top five vendor rankings in the fourth quarter, respectively, with shares of 11 per cent, 10 per cent and 8 per cent.
Still, Canalys’ latest global smartphone shipment data reflected an “extremely challenging” year for all vendors, as total volume declined 11 per cent year on year to fewer than 1.2 billion units in 2022.
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