The global smartphone market suffered the biggest drop in 2022 in a decade with an 11.3% decrease in sales. At the same time, Samsung and Apple, respectively the first and second largest market share brands, cemented their position as sales leaders, stealing space from the big three Chinese brands.

According to the Spanish daily ?El Economista? quoted by the newspaper Económico, the decrease in sales volume, globally, was even more pronounced in the fourth quarter, around 18.3%, in what is considered the most important period of the year in the sector, because it includes the Christmas and black Friday festivities.

South Korean Samsung continues to lead the market, having seen its market share rise to 21.6% in 2022, with 226.4 million smartphones sold worldwide, after holding a 20% share recorded in 2021. Apple's sales change was similar, with the US company up 1.5 percentage points (p.p.) to 18.8% last year, corresponding to 226.4 million sales.

In the opposite direction were Xiaomi, Oppo and Vivo, at 12.7%, 8.6% and 8.2%, respectively, following drops in the order of 2.7, 1.2 and 1.4 p.p., respectively

Added to these numbers is the increase in the average period for consumers to purchase a new device, which has reached 40 months.