The new iPhone 14 smartphones are on display at an Apple Store at The Grove in Los Angeles, Friday, Sept. 16, 2022. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Global smartphone shipments saw their largest-ever single decline in the fourth quarter of 2022, plunging 18.3 percent year-over-year, according to data from the International Data Corporation (IDC).
The drop rounds out a 11.3 percent decline for all of 2022 for a total of 1.21 billion units, which is the lowest annual shipment amount since 2013.
"We have never seen shipments in the holiday quarter come in lower than the previous quarter," said Nabila Popal, research director at IDC, in a news release. "Heavy sales and promotions during the quarter helped deplete existing inventory rather than drive shipment growth."
The downward trend has been ongoing for years but intensified in 2022. As global economic uncertainty increases, vendors are increasingly cautious in planning shipments, as they focus on profitability over maximizing sales and risking accumulating too much inventory.
"Even Apple, which thus far was seemingly immune, suffered a setback in its supply chain with unforeseen lockdowns at its key factories in China," Popal said.
While Apple is still the biggest smartphone maker in the world, the company shipped 14.9 percent fewer units in 2022 than the year before for a total of 72.3 million.
Samsung's smartphone sales were also down 15.6 percent, and China-based Xiaomi saw its sales plunge more than 26 percent.
"We continue to witness consumer demand dwindle as refresh rates climb past 40 months in most major markets," said Anthony Scarsella, another research director for IDC. "With 2022 declining more than 11% for the year, 2023 is set up to be a year of caution as vendors will rethink their portfolio of devices while channels will think twice before taking on excess inventory."
On a positive note, he said consumers are likely to see more generous trade-in offers and promotions this year, as companies new ways to drive sales and upgrades.
YouTube will offer creators a way to rejoin the streaming platform if they were banned for violating COVID-19 and election misinformation policies that are no longer in effect.
Ben Lamm, founder of Colossal Biosciences, is leading a bold mission to resurrect the extinct dodo via gene editing, avian breakthroughs, and rewilding plans.
Chipmaker Nvidia will invest $100 billion in OpenAI as part of a partnership that will add at least 10 gigawatts of Nvidia AI data centers to ramp up the computing power for the owner of the artificial intelligence chatbot ChatGPT.
Julie Hansen of Babbel unveils Babbel Speak, an AI voice trainer tackling language fear head-on, as Babbel eyes IPO and takes on AirPods’ translation tech.
The Trump administration has issued its first warnings to online services that offer unofficial versions of popular drugs like the blockbuster obesity treatment Wegovy.
Albania's Prime Minister Edi Rama says his new Cabinet will include an artificial intelligence “minister” in charge of fighting corruption. The AI, named Diella, will oversee public funding projects and combat corruption in public tenders. Diella was launched earlier this year as a virtual assistant on the government's public service platform. Corruption has been a persistent issue in Albania since 1990. Rama's Socialist Party won a fourth consecutive term in May. It aims to deliver EU membership for Albania in five years, but the opposition Democratic Party remains skeptical.
