Canalys noted in its latest report that the smartphone market has gone through a rough patch over the past few quarters, but the worst may finally be over. The annual decline in the third quarter of 2023 is only 1%, but as geopolitical uncertainty is not over yet and companies are still recalibrating sales channels and component inventories, suppliers should be cautious about the market rebound.
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The market leader is still Samsung, followed by Apple. Xiaomi remained the world's third-largest smartphone company in the third quarter, while Transsion, which owns brands such as Itel, Infinix and Tecno, is currently on track to surpass OPPO in global shipments.
Outside the top five, Canalys shows that Huawei has made a strong comeback in the past three months with the launch of the Mate60 series; while the product may be limited to the Chinese market for now, operators and retailers are racing to stock up on Huawei phones to meet surging demand.
Amber Liu believes that Xiaomi and Transsion have successfully seized the opportunity of the rebound in emerging markets. As long as both companies "play their cards right," these short-term wins may translate into more sustainable long-term success.
Canalys analyst Toby Zhu said that the increase in supply chain costs is expected and smartphone manufacturers are adapting to the changing situation. However, the current surge in component orders, coupled with reduced supply capacity, may result in component shortages, which will pose challenges to planning and production.