Worldwide smartphone shipments declined 9 per cent year-on-year in Q2 due to economic headwinds and regional uncertainty, but Apple’s iPhone 13 remained in high demand and Samsung benefitted from lower-tier models, preliminary data from research company Canalys showed.

Shipments of the iPhone 13 helped boost Apple to a 17 per cent share compared with 14 per cent in Q2 2021, ranking it second overall in the recent quarter.

Samsung took the top spot with a 21 per cent share compared with 18 per cent, largely due shipments of its mid-tier A-series.

Chinese manufacturers Xiaomi, Oppo and Vivo suffered double-digit declines in shipments, leaving them with shares of 14 per cent, 10 per cent and 9 per cent, respectively, compared with 17 per cent, 11 per cent and 10 per cent in Q2 2021.

Research analyst Runar Bjorhovde stated “economic headwinds, sluggish demand and inventory” backlogs resulted in vendors reassessing their strategies for the rest of 2022.

“The oversupplied mid-range is an exposed segment for vendors to focus on adjusting new launches, as budget-constrained consumers shift their device purchases toward the lower end.”

Analyst Toby Zhu noted consumers’ disposable income was impacted “by soaring inflation this year”, but he expected vendors to accelerate promotions and special offers to “accelerate sell-through” ahead of launches during the holiday selling period.

Canalys placed Q2 2021 shipments at 316 million units, based on sell-in.