Canalys: 2022 sees the Chinese smartphone market fall to the worst levels in the last ten years

Canalys has released its latest report on smartphone sales in China covering the last quarter of 2022 and the full calendar year. The results are bleak, as the market saw a 14% decline in overall shipments, falling below 300 million units for the first time since 2013.

During the fourth quarter, Apple was the top manufacturer with 22% market share, although shipments were down 24%.

The importance of the Chinese market is enormous for manufacturers, as it is the largest in the world: about 25% of all smartphones globally are sold in the Asian country. Canalys reveals that the majority of sellers have been dealing with inventory issues in 2022 and have had trouble clearing stock.

China is moving towards a “premiumisation” of the market, with manufacturers launching products with “enhanced ecosystem experiences”. Analysts highlighted Xiaomi’s partnership with Leica with the 13 Pro smartphone and Oppo with the expansion of its foldable portfolio to include the Find N2 Flip.

vivo maintained the top spot for the year, but is now closely followed by Honor, Apple and Oppo – all four manufacturers have a similar market share of around 18%, followed by Xiaomi with 13%.

Most companies faced annual declines in shipments, except for Apple with a minor increase and Honor with a massive 30% jump, but that company was still making its first steps in 2022.

Expectations for 2023 are that demand could take 6 to 12 months to bring numbers back above 300 million.

However, overall market results should pick up as the pandemic is no longer such a big deal, the supply chain should stabilize, and business activity and consumer confidence are likely to return.