Smartphone shipments to the Chinese market amounted to 61.3 million units in the third quarter of 2023, showing a 2.4% decline sequentially but a 5% increase compared to the same period a year earlier.
Chinese smartphone vendors together experienced a shipment growth of 4.3% sequentially and 5.8% annually in the third quarter of 2023, buoyed by a seasonal rebound in overseas markets and a resurgence in demand in some emerging markets.
Global smartphone shipments are expected to grow within a range of 4-8% annually from 2024-2028, representing a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6%.
Global tablet shipments reached only 28.09 million units in the second quarter of 2023, down nearly 5% from a quarter ago, due to the quarter being the traditional slow season and sales in key markets such as North America and China showing no major improvement.
Second-quarter 2023 smartphone shipments to the China market came to 62.8 million units, edging upward 0.6% from a quarter ago and decreasing 2.2% from a year ago.
Second-quarter 2023 smartphone shipments by China-based smartphone vendors exhibited a 7.4% on-quarter growth but a 6.1% on-year decline, and volumes will enjoy single-digit growths quarterly in second half of 2023.
Entering 2023, most countries worldwide, especially emerging markets, are still struggling from high inflation and see weakening consumer demand as a result. DIGITIMES Research estimates that global smartphone shipments slipped 13.2% on year to come to only 264 million in the first quarter of 2023 and will witness an on-year decline of 6.4% to reach volumes of 257 million units in the second quarter.
Smartphones shipped to the China market shrank to only 62 million units in the first quarter of 2023, down 12.4% sequentially and 7.2% on year, but the volumes in the second quarter are expected to stay at about the same level as in the first.
First-quarter 2023 global tablet shipments came to only 29.44 million units, declining 17% from the prior quarter and 8% from the prior year as the market entered the traditional slow season; however, with brands' robust short-term orders, the volumes will only drop less than 1% sequentially in the second quarter.
Smartphone shipments by the Chinese brand vendors are expected to slip 13.2% sequentially and 17.1% on year in the first quarter of 2023; however, their shipments are expected to make a recovery in the second quarter, stimulated by robust demand from shopping festivals, with an on-year decline to shrink to less than 10%.
Global smartphone shipments amounted to above 300 million units in the fourth quarter of 2022 and are estimated to go down further to 263 million units, slipping a double-digit percentage sequentially in both quarters.
