China’s smartphone sales drop to lowest in 10 years

China’s smartphone sales endured a record fall in 2022, tumbling 13per cent to their lowest level in a decade as Covid-19 controls and a slowing economy sapped consumer appetite, data from third-party research firms showed.

The total number of devices shipped was 286 million, down from 329 million in 2022. It was the lowest sales volume since 2013 and the

first time since then that annual sales have dropped below 300 million, IDC said in a report, reports NDTV.

Strict Covid-19 controls weighed heavily on the Chinese economy last year but Beijing started dismantling the restrictions in December, boosting consumption.

“The strict pandemic control poicy has resulted in historically high household savings as consumer spending became conservative,” said Lucas Zhong, who tracks China’s smartphone sector for research firm Canalys.

Android handset maker Vivo was the top-selling brand in 2022, with a market share of 18.6

per cent, according to IDC. Its total shipments fell 25.1per cent year-on-year.

Huawei Technologies spin-off Honor ranked as the second best-selling brand, with shipments growing more than 34per cent, albeit from a low base.

Apple Inc was the third best-selling phone brand in 2022, tied with Oppo, moving up from fourth place in the previous year.