Slowing demand for smartphones is one of the reasons shipments declined by 7.1% year-on-year (YoY) and 21.6% quarter-on-quarter with a total of 3.9 million smartphones in the first quarter of 2022 (1Q22). Market intelligence firm International Data Corp. also cited the ongoing supply shortage for low-end smartphones for the continued decline.

“While 5G smartphones have increased to almost 20% of total shipments in 1Q22, 4G Android smartphones fell 16.3% YoY and 24.4% QoQ due to tight supplies, with smartphones priced less than $200 impacted the most,” said Angela Medez, Market Analyst at IDC Philippines.

Smartphone shipments increased in 2021 despite decline in Q4 — IDC
Worldwide smartphone shipments decline by 6.7% in Q3 2021 — IDC

Top 5 smartphone brands in PH

realme maintained the top rank for the fifth consecutive quarter, commanding a 20.2% share of the smartphone market, despite declining 11.6% YoY. It launched its Narzo 50 series, and held its first realme Brand Summit and introduced TechLife partner brand, Dizo in February.

Rising brand Transsion secured the second spot as both its Tecno and Infinix brands launched their first 5G smartphones in the market, making up 11% of 5G shipments in the country. Infinix plans to further strengthen its offline channel presence outside of Manila as well as scale up its product portfolio for 2022, while itel launched Vision 3 series with average pricing below US$ 100.

Samsung climbed to the third spot growing 7.6% YoY and 2.4% QoQ, accounting for a 16.8% share of the market by introducing several models at different price points. The new A-series drove its ultra low-end (<US$ 100) shipments by 89.3% QoQ, while its Galaxy S22 series drove the growth of its US$ 600+ price segment by 45% QoQ.

Supply disruptions

Xiaomi returned to the Top 5 rankings, securing the fourth spot by launching its Redmi 10C, Redmi Note 11, and Xiaomi 12 series. It grew by 20.8% YoY and 14.6% QoQ, while its 4G shipments grew by 48.8% QoQ, accounting for almost 90% of its total shipments and driving its average pricing down from US$ 216 to US$ 182. Xiaomi continued with retail expansion by opening more Mi stores, kiosks, and partnerships with retailers.

OPPO clinched the fifth spot despite declining 31.8% YoY and 37.0% QoQ, as tight supplies cut its low-end (US$ 100<US$ 200) shipments by almost half compared to previous quarter. The launch of its Reno 7 series drove its 5G share, which accounted for 17.7% of their total shipments.

“Supply disruptions are expected to challenge vendors in meeting their targets for 2022, but we may see some improvements towards the end of the year,” Medez said. “The silver lining could be the acceleration of 5G smartphones in the Philippines as vendors focus on their 5G portfolio to drive growth.”