The connected market, such as smartphones, connected speakers and true wireless headphones, is also experiencing turmoil. Dynamic’s overview of this market that makes more than one dream.
Smartphone market has seen unprecedented decline in ten years
Mobile phone sales are no longer in euphoria. In the final quarter of 2022, the region saw a 17% decline, with only 300 million copies sold. Figures from analysis firm Canalys identify 1.2 billion smartphone deliveries last year. This is a decline of 11% compared to 2021. However, the market seems to be blowing it out of the water with high-end models.
It must be said that the distribution circuit is very cautious in the acquisition of new stock. On the manufacturer side, Apple has managed to retain its position as the leading smartphone brand. With the new model released in September, the iPhone accounts for one in four sales in the last quarter of 2022. It is followed by Samsung (20%), driven by the launch of Z Fold 4 and Z Flip 4, Xiaomi (11%) and Oppo. (10%). Samsung remained the most popular brand throughout the year. The manufacturer will achieve 22% of sales in 2022, ahead of Apple (19%) and Xiaomi (13%). However, a negative impact is expected in saturated markets. In fact, the increase in the duration of use is far from dynamic for sales. Global smartphone shipments declined for the fifth consecutive quarter in the first quarter of 2023.
Connected speakers, an interesting market
Inflation plays an important role in the purchasing power of consumers in this sector. heavy sales of “smart speaker” The world recorded an unprecedented decline in 2022. Fortunately, improvements made to European language voice control through artificial intelligence should make a comeback in Germany, France or Spain.
However, the average growth of the global market should not exceed an average of 3.4% per year until 2026. As for Apple, the failure of the first HomePod hasn’t allowed it to overtake Amazon and Google at the top of the market. According to data from Consumer Intelligence Research Partners, the e-commerce champion’s Echo range has 67% of the US market, compared to 27% for Google Speakers and just 6% for the HomePod. Moreover, massive job cuts have replaced the heavy recruitment in this sector in the past years. Amazon plans to cut 2,000 jobs in the division responsible for the Echo speaker and its accompanying voice assistant Alexa. Google is in the process of cutting 12,000 jobs out of 186,000, but did not specify whether this pertains to its “hardware” teams.
True Wireless Headphones, a Growing Market
It holds a major share of over 17% of the true wireless headphones market in terms of the number of units sold in the first quarter of 2022. This represents a total of 68.2 million pairs of headphones sold. The global headphone and earphone market is expected to be valued at $58.2 billion in 2022. It is expected to reach $83 billion in 2025 according to Grand View Research. Despite a slight drop in its market share (31.8%), Apple is consolidating its position at the top with a 14% increase in units sold. AirPods (up 3% with 19.3 million units sold) and Beats which skyrocketed 553% to 2.4 million units sold.
The success came because of the Studio Buds and Fit Pro. Samsung and Xiaomi remain on the top 2 and 3 positions, but the number of units sold has dropped drastically: -4% for Samsung and -16% for Xiaomi. As far as Skullcandy and Edifier are concerned, they are very successful with an increase of 53 and 24% respectively in the number of units sold. According to the Canalys study, the average amount paid for a pair of true wireless headphones increased from around €143 in Q1 2021 to €135 in Q1 2022. Has inflation passed this phase?