The production of smartphones in Q4 2022 was only 301 million units
The end of each year presents a good opportunity for manufacturers to push for their annual sales figures, while consumers take the chance to purchase their preferred electronic products. Last year, smartphone manufacturers had planned to use festivals and e-commerce promotions to accelerate inventory digestion, but the global economic downturn and lower-than-expected market demand hindered sales.
According to TrendForce’s latest research and statistical data, the smartphone production volume in the fourth quarter of 2022 was approximately 301 million units, representing a 4% QoQ increase but a 15.5% YoY decrease. The total smartphone production volume for 2022 was 1.192 billion units, a 10.6% decrease from last year.
In the fourth quarter of 2022, Apple‘s new products entered the market and, despite the impact of the labor shortage at Foxconn in Zhengzhou, the company still achieved sales of 73.5 million units, a QoQ growth of 44.7%, and ranked first globally. Apple’s total annual production was 233 million units, ranking second. In the new year, the next generation of the iPhone series will not only receive hardware upgrades but will also introduce the Pro series into a new assembly factory while expanding its production scale in India.
Samsung was affected by inventory pressures, with production falling to 58.3 million units in the fourth quarter of 2022, a QoQ decrease of 9.2%, which was also the lowest quarterly production volume of the year. Samsung’s total annual production was 258 million units, ranking first, but it decreased by 6.1% YoY. In the new year, Samsung will pay more attention to the high-end market.
In the fourth quarter of 2022, Xiaomi, OPPO, and Vivo ranked third to fifth, respectively. All three companies experienced declines in both quarterly and annual production volumes. Xiaomi will focus on inventory reduction in the first half of 2023; OPPO will concentrate on overseas markets, which will account for 60% of its sales while continuing to adjust its inventory; Vivo, which was the earliest among Android manufacturers to begin adjusting its inventory, has now reached a healthy level.
