According to the International Data Corp. (IDC), smartphone shipments in the Philippines have reached their lowest quarterly figures. In the first quarter of 2023, the market experienced a decline of 16.7% quarter over quarter (QoQ) and 11% year over year (YoY), with only 3.5 million units shipped. 

The challenging market conditions were further exacerbated by the continuous rise in core inflation until March 2023.

“The last time shipments hit below 3.5 million records was back in 1Q20 when the pandemic just started and the first lockdown was implemented,” says Angela Medez, client devices senior market analyst at IDC Philippines.

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Tecno Mobile

In this quarter, Transsion surpassed realme, which had held the top position for two consecutive years, to claim the leading spot in the Philippines smartphone market. Transsion’s sub-brand, Tecno, witnessed a significant year-over-year growth of 33.7% and a QoQ growth of 107.8%. Tecno’s contribution to Transsion’s overall shipments exceeded 50%, surpassing Infinix’s market share.

Realme, OPPO, and Xiaomi completed the list of top 5 smartphone shipments in the Philippines.

Tecno’s ascent can be attributed to its aggressive marketing campaigns that introduced new models across different price points. The Spark Go 2023 model played a significant role in driving its growth, and the brand also entered the $500+ segment with its Phantom series.

Although the market seems to have reached its lowest point and is showing signs of recovery, with inflation finally slowing down, IDC remains cautious about the future. Medez expressed that due to inflation levels remaining uncomfortably high, vendors are likely to remain cautious, leading to anticipated flat growth in shipments for 2023.