Global smartphone shipments are expected to experience another quarter of on-year decline in the second quarter of 2022, dropping for four quarters straight since third-quarter 2021.
DIGITIMES Research's statistics and forecast show global smartphone shipments declined for three quarters straight from third-quarter 2021 to first-quarter 2022.
According to Digitimes Research's statistics, global tablet shipments amounted to 32 million units in first-quarter 2022 in line with expectation. The volume was the lowest since the COVID-19 outbreak started in first-quarter 2020 as the tablet market sustained pressure from the slow season and rising inflation while no longer enjoying pandemic-driven work-from-home (WFH) and online learning demand.
According to DIGITIMES Research's surveys and analyses, first-quarter 2022 smartphone shipments to the China market fell 26.5% from the prior year level, coming short of the 70-million-unit mark amid weak market demand.
According to DIGITIMES Research's statistics and analyses, China-based smartphone brands shipped a total of 170 million phones worldwide in first-quarter 2022, down 12.9% from the prior quarter with the China market experiencing worsening decline and overseas markets entering slow season and undergoing seasonal adjustment after the year-end shopping season.
Fourth-quarter 2021 smartphone shipments to the China market amounted to 80.5 million units. The volume represented a 9.5% increase from the prior quarter, driven by inventory preparation demand for the high season.
China-based smartphone brands shipped a total of 195 million phones in fourth-quarter 2021 as they aggressively ramped up shipments in the traditional high season in an attempt to make their whole-year target.
Global tablet shipments amounted to 37.13 million units in fourth-quarter 2021, up 5.4% from the prior quarter but down 20.2% from the prior year, as the tablet market continued to struggle with the IC shortage and the shipments came short of expectation in the traditional high season.
The China-based top-4 smartphone brands - Xiaomi, Oppo, Vivo and Honor - together shipped 509 million phones in 2021, among which 5G ones represented about 50%.
Global smartphone shipments in the second half of 2021 did not see a growth momentum as in the first half and had experienced decline in both quarters of the period amid the resurgence of the COVID-19 pandemic and rising concerns over a potential inflation.
