2023-08-28 20:54:24
Special smart phones
At a time when the global smartphone market is suffering from a continuous decline in sales due to the economic challenges facing consumer spending, the Middle East region was able to break this downward path during the second quarter of 2023, achieving a growth rate of 2 percent.
According to a report by “Canalys” market research company, the world’s smartphone producers shipped 9.5 million smartphones to the Middle East region, excluding Turkey, in the second quarter of 2023, which represents an annual growth rate of 2 percent.
This is at the same time that phone shipments to the global market fell by 10 percent.
Three markets support phone sales in the Middle East
According to the “Canalys” report, the progress achieved by the smartphone market in the Middle East during the second quarter of 2023 was supported by the increase in sales in the markets of three countries, namely Iraq, Saudi Arabia and the UAE, as the Iraqi market achieved a steady growth of 24 percent, while Phone shipments in Saudi Arabia increased by an astounding 19 percent year-on-year, with the UAE market also growing at a healthy 6 percent driven by the influx of tourists into the country.
On the other hand, shipments of smartphones around the world decreased by 10 percent, to 258.2 million units during the second quarter of 2023, marking its sixth consecutive decline since the beginning of 2022, as the smartphone market suffered a huge loss since that date, due to the global economic slowdown. Resulting from the central banks raising interest rates, the consequences of the Russian-Ukrainian war, in addition to the closures related to the Covid 19 epidemic in a number of countries.
Also, according to Canalys, the Korean company, Samsung, was the company that achieved the most sales in the Middle East during the second quarter of 2023, with shipments of 3.4 million smartphones, which allowed it to control a 36 percent share of the market.
However, despite being ranked first, Samsung recorded a decline of 9 percent year on year.
As for the surprise, it came in second place, which was occupied by the Chinese company “Transition”, achieving a growth rate of 29 percent, with 1.7 million smartphones shipped, controlling an 18 percent share of the market, during the second quarter of 2023, while the Chinese company, Xiaomi, ranked first. It ranked third, as it shipped 1.3 million phones, with a market share of 14 percent.
As for the American company Apple, it fell to fourth place, during the second quarter of 2023, recording a decline of 5 percent on an annual basis, bringing its market share to 12 percent, followed by the Chinese Realme brand in fifth place, with a market share of 4 percent with shipments of regarding 400 units. A smart phone.
The Middle East is going once morest the tide
The writer and analyst specializing in phones and artificial intelligence, Alan Al-Qarih, said, in an interview with “Sky News Arabia Economy”, that the “Canalys” market research report reveals 4 major changes that occurred in the smartphone market in the Middle East, the first of which is that this market has become It goes once morest the global trend, which is witnessing a decline in sales, while the second change lies in the rocket progress achieved by the Chinese “Transition” phones, and the third change is the significant decline in the ranking of the “iPhone” maker, to be the fourth change with the exit of the OPPO brand from the list of the 5 most popular companies. It sold smartphones to be replaced by the Realme brand.
Al-Qareh believes that the growth achieved by the smartphone market in the Middle East is due to the improvement of the economic situation in the region, the emergence of more phones that belong to the middle and cheap category, in addition to the promotional offers that were launched by merchants, during the period of Eid Al-Fitr and Al-Adha. Which contributed to the support of sales by a large percentage.
He pointed out that the “Canalys” report revealed that the increase in consumer demand focused on budget smartphones, that is, cheap and mid-priced phones, while shipments of premium smartphones suffered from a decline in sales, as consumer spending in the region remains cautious.
Al-Qarih adds that the great paradox in the world of smartphones in the Middle East, during the second quarter of 2023, was the emergence of the “Transition” company as a rising force in this field, displacing Apple from the second place, which it had occupied in the first quarter of 2023.
And “Transition” is a Chinese company for the manufacture of phones, which owns the brands Techno, Itel and Infinix, as these are all these phones, famous for providing good specifications at very competitive prices, and this is precisely what helped the company to achieve a great penetration in the Middle East market, especially in countries that suffer from economic crises.
According to Al-Qarah, the decline recorded by Apple in the Middle East is due to consumers’ tendency towards cheaper options, as it is known that iPhone phones belong to the category of high-priced luxury phones, which did not fit with market trends in the previous stage.
He also expected that the decline in iPhone shipments in the region would be immediate, as the Apple brand still has a strong presence in the region, with expectations that it will resume its progress in the market during the last quarter of 2023.
Surprising exit
For his part, mobile application programmer Rabih Al-Baba said in an interview with “Sky News Arabia Economy” that the surprising thing in the report was that the “OPPO” smartphone brand lost its seat among the best-selling phone brands in the Middle East.
He explained that OPPO ranked fifth, in terms of phone shipments in the first quarter of 2023, as a result of the confidence it has gained in many Arab markets, during recent years, with the support of the quality of its devices and campaigns, which encouraged consumers to purchase these phones.
According to Al-Baba, the strong performance of the smartphone market in the Middle East during the second quarter of 2023 indicates that the downward path has ended and that sales will continue to restore the path of growth, especially in the GCC countries, driven by the strength of the local market and tourists, in addition to the launch of companies such as Apple and Samsung, their new premium phones, which usually achieve great sales when they are launched.
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