US smartphone shipments declined year-over-year (YoY) for the fourth straight quarter in quarter three (Q3) 2023 amid weak consumer demand, according to new data from Counterpoint Research. The annual decline in the third quarter was 19%.
Google, Samsung and TCL were among the brands recording the steepest YoY declines, while Motorola and Nokia HMD managed growth amid a challenging market environment, according to Counterpoint. Apple’s iPhone shipments declined 11% YoY, in part due to the later launch date of the iPhone 15 series compared to the iPhone 14 series, adds the research group.
Counterpoint says that weak upgrade rates at the carriers were the main source of weak smartphone shipments, signaling that consumers are opting to hold on to their devices for longer.
Commenting on the iPhone 15 launch and overall market outlook, Research Director Jeff Fieldhack said: “Despite the carriers continuing to offer strong promotions through the quarter, upgrade rates at the carriers remained near record lows. We expect a seasonal rebound in upgrade rates during the fourth quarter, but they are likely to remain lower than in the same period last year. There is a large installed base of iPhone 11 and iPhone 12 users in the US that is likely to upgrade to the iPhone 15 series this year. But while we saw the usual high wait times for the iPhone 15 series at launch, they came back down to earth quicker than for the iPhone 14 series, which could signal that the slump in consumer smartphone demand will extend to the iPhone 15 in Q4 2023.”
Article provided with permission from AppleWorld.Today
