US Smartphone Shipments Fall 24% YoY in Q2 2023 on Lower Upgrade Rates
US Smartphone Shipments Fall 24% YoY in Q2 2023 on Lower Upgrade Rates
US smartphone shipments declined 24% YoY in Q2 2023, according to Counterpoint Research’s Market Monitor data. This was the third consecutive quarter of YoY declines. Android brands like Samsung, Motorola and TCL-Alcatel saw the steepest declines in shipments, while Apple’s shipments were more resilient. As a result, Apple’s share of shipments increased YoY.
This is great news. Reduce e-waste by using your phone until it gives up.
Only problem with this is if you don't have a backup and your phone suddenly dies on you it can be kind of panic inducing. Especially since when I went to buy a new phone afterward, my bank wanted me to prove that I was the one using my own card with a text message...except I couldn't do that because my phone was dead and wouldn't turn on so I couldn't verify it wasn't fraud and I couldn't buy the new phone. Lol!
A shitty backup phone is def a good idea.
Not surprising, and many Android enthusiasts called this a few years ago. Other than folding devices (some of which costs enough to buy an Iphone Pro Max + iPad), how is Android differentiating themselves from Apple on the hardware front? The few things they could have done to separate themselves, like SD cards, headphone jacks, etc. are now gone with some niche exceptions. And now that Apple is finally adding some customization on iOS, plus being dragged kicking and screaming by the EU to conform to universal standards, the feature set differences continue to diminish.
Copying Apple only benefits Apple, and we're seeing this occur quarter by quarter. Pixels may be the exception simply because they cost two-thirds (half, during their generous sales) as much as Samsung's. But if they continue their trend of raising prices, I think their sales will eventually stagnate too.
Even Android phones that have retained SD card and headphone jack(Sony Xperia 5 IV) are not doing any better. People in Android communities talk about retaining these features and they would only buy phones with these features. Yet when you check smartphone shipment data it is showing otherwise, phones that have removed these features are selling more.
How can the data show that these phones are selling less when no phones are selling them at all? With the exception of Sony's Xperia line, who made a profit for the first time last year, what other mainstream phone sold in North America (a direct Android to Apple sales comparison where Apple has grown 10% YoY) has both of these features?
Do any of these features actually exist on flagship models? Because those are the ones carried and pushed by mobile providers. People aren't buying phones in a vacuum; most people have limited options when getting a new phone because it's often not worth the hassle to switch providers just to get the exact model phone you want.
If price isn't good then people aren't going to go out of their way to pay for specific features. And then they only seem to support their phones for two years.
https://www.androidauthority.com/phone-update-policies-1658633/
So if price and update support fall short it's not something even enthusiasts will be drawn to just because of one hardware feature they want.
Interesting to see even with 24% YoY decline for smartphones, Android shipments fell 38% vs 6% for iPhone. Apple has completely gotten the hardware and software integration right to create whole better than the sum of its parts.
Yeah, Apple might charge out the ass for mediocre hardware, but their UI/UX game is in another league compared to android.
But, that's the benefit of only having to support an extremely limited hardware configuration.
In my country, you don't get free upgrades anymore. You have to put them on a plan that adds a bunch to your phone bill every month. I know I haven't even considered replacing a perfectly good phone after that (which is probably what things should be like anyway, but still....)
For me it’s always about the features and innovations of a new phone. The latest iPhone offers SOS mode via satellite and if it could be used for limited texting and whatnot when out of cell range I probably would have upgraded. As it stands, there is really zero compelling reason to upgrade unless my phone is at end of life. This is going to continue to be a trend until the next big features come out. What is the purpose of the upgrade? What new features sell it? My camera is good enough, the battery is doing fine, the phone looks the same as every other phone externally. Just like the PC, upgrade cycles will become longer as the hardware lasts longer. This is where these companies need to start relying on their creativity to come up with some new and compelling reasons to drive upgrades.
Less benefit to upgrading every 12-24 months + Samsung copying apple every turn.
I bought my Galaxy S9 in 2018. I was afraid the curved screen would cause it to crack easier. NOPE this sucker has been a tank. I have it in a UAG case, and I have shattered the back (held together with tape behind the case haha). I've dropped the phone countless times, but it still won't die.
Yeah the battery life isn't great and the camera is junk by today's standard. But dang the phone just keeps rocking along - so I have no justification to buy a new one.
I really don't know what phone I'll buy next - probably not a samsung though lol
Unlike Apple, Android phones do not kill their battery life after 3 years. On the contrary, I swapped my S9's battery myself and have it a longer life as a secondary phone for traveling or backup. With the restored battery that old exynos chip is still good enough to run most apps to my satisfaction. Even my newer one is not a current gen model. For me, the only reason to upgrade anymore is security updates and most users don't even care about that. Okay, maybe the cameras still keep getting better but only marginally.
Any battery will be degraded after 3 years of daily use, no matter the brand. And if you are saying this in the sense that apple slows down phones after a while, it's just not true anymore, they profit more from having you inside the ecosystem than risk you switching to android (which is also why they offer so many years of updates). I've had an iPhone 8 up until 2021 and it was still very fast and had (relatively) good battery life. Even when I turned it back on a few months ago and updated everything to ios 16, it was still working just fine on battery and performance department
And don't get me wrong, I am not an apple fanboy (anymore). I have an S23 and I won't even consider switching until Apple allows me to sideload stuff on iOS, I just don't like false information
Yeah I meant the intentional degradation. Good to know they don't do that anymore.