Global smartphone shipments record worst third quarter in 14 years amid memory shortage
Counterpoint said memory shortages and higher prices pushed retail phone prices up 20% this year, squeezing budget models and lifting premium demand.
- On Wednesday, International Data Corp reported that global smartphone shipments fell 22% year-on-year to 255.3 million units in the third quarter, marking the worst decline on record for the industry.
- Rising memory costs, which have surged approximately 350% since last year due to AI-driven industry orders, forced manufacturers to raise prices, reduce specifications, and discard budget-focused models.
- The shrinking market has polarized competition, with Apple Inc. and Samsung Electronics accounting for about 45% of global shipments, while Chinese brands like Xiaomi Corp. and Oppo suffered sharper declines.
- IDC senior research director Nabila Popal warned, "The worst is yet to come," citing current indicators suggesting the market has not yet reached the bottom.
- Omdia principal analyst Runar Bjorhovde told The Register that manufacturers face a permanent structural shift, with no relief from the memory crisis anticipated before 2028 at the earliest.
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AI's memory chip crunch is crushing the smartphone market
The smartphone market suffered its worst decline on record in the September quarter, as rising memory costs pushed shipments down 22%, with worse to come, according to market researcher IDC. Memory chip prices increased by a stunning 350% over the past year, IDC says, because of competition for memory from AI industry players. That’s cut into smartphone manufacturers’ profits and forced them to raise prices, cut back on specifications, and disca…
The market for smartphones and computers is in crisis, although some manufacturers are doing better than others. Because of this, the price of electronic components is rising dramatically.
Smartphone shipments crash 22% in worst quarter ever, research group says
The smartphone market suffered its worst decline on record in the third quarter, after rising memory costs pushed global shipments down 22 percent year-on-year to 255.3 million units with worse to come, market researcher International Data Corp (IDC) said in a report released on Wednesday.The higher
Sales of the two leading consumer electronics products fell by 20% in the third quarter. On the smartphone, only Apple and Samsung, positioned on the very high end, are better off.
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