THE Philippine smartphone market declined 11% in the first quarter to 3.5 million units shipped, International Data Corp. (IDC) said.
“Market conditions remained difficult as core inflation continued to rise through March,” IDC said, referring also to a decline of 16.7% in the smartphone shipments from the previous quarter.
“The last time shipments were below 3.5 million was back in 1Q20 when the pandemic just started and the first lockdown was implemented,” according to Angela Medez, client devices senior market analyst at IDC Philippines.
In the first quarter, the IDC reported that Shenzhen Transsion Holdings Co. Ltd. topped the Philippines by unit market share at 19.5%.
“Transsion climbed to the top spot, ending realme’s two-year streak as the top-ranking smartphone company in the Philippines,” the IDC said, referring to RealMe Chongqing Mobile Telecommunications Corp., Ltd.
Tecno, a Transsion brand, grew 33.7% year on year, accounting for more than 50% of the company’s total shipments.
“Tecno’s rise is attributable to its aggressive campaigns offering new models at different price points as well as introducing its Phantom series, initiating the brand’s entry in the $500+ band,” IDC said.
realme accounted for 18.7% of the market share, with Oppo Electronics Corp. taking 15.5%, Vivo Mobile Communication Co. Ltd. 13.1% and Xiaomi, Inc. 11.9%.
“Though it seems that the market has finally bottomed out and is on its road to recovery with inflation finally slowing down, IDC anticipates shipments to remain flat in 2023 as vendors will remain cautious with inflation still above comfortable levels,” Ms. Medez said. — Justine Irish D. Tabile
