The 1Q23 Philippines’ Smartphone Market Fell to the Lowest Quarterly Shipments in Three Years

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According to the International Data Corporation’s (IDC) Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker, the Philippines smartphone market declined 16.7% quarter over quarter (QoQ) and 11.0% year over year (YoY), shipping 3.5 million units for the first quarter of 2023. Market conditions remained difficult as core inflation continued to rise through March 2023.

“The last time shipments hit below 3.5 million records was back in 1Q20 when the pandemic just started and the first lockdown was implemented,” says Angela Medez, Client Devices Senior Market Analyst at IDC Philippines.

Transsion climbed to the top spot, ending realme’s two-year streak as top the ranking smartphone company in the Philippines. Transsion’s sub-brand, Tecno, grew 33.7% YoY and 107.8% QoQ contributing more than 50% to the company’s total shipments, surpassing Infinix’s share.

Tecno’s rise is attributable to its aggressive campaigns offering new models at different price points (with its Spark Go 2023 model leading its growth) as well as introducing its Phantom series, initiating the brand’s entry in the US$500+ band.

“Though it seems that the market has finally bottomed out and is on its road to recovery with inflation finally slowing down, IDC anticipates shipments to remain flat in 2023 as vendors will remain cautious with inflation still above comfortable levels,” Medez added.