In 2022, the European smartphone market hit its lowest point in a decade

AppleInsider · February 23, 2023 1:00PM

Researchers claim that as smartphone shipments drastically declined in Europe in 2022, the iPhone 14 was Apple's weakest seller since 2012's iPhone 5.

iPhone 14 (left) and the iPhone 14 Pro (right)

Counterpoint Research previously described 2021 as a rollercoaster year in smartphone sales, but at least Apple hit its highest European market share then. But now in its latest research, the company reports EU smartphone shipments in 2022 were bad for all manufacturers, including Apple.

The research claims that overall, the EU smartphone market declined by 17% in 2022 compared to 2021. About 176 million smartphones were shipped in the year, which is the lowest total since 2012.

"Yes, the traditional Christmas boost meant quarterly shipments increased compared to Q3, but consumer demand remained muted," said Jan Stryjak, Counterpoint Research associate director. "Apple's usual strong end to the year was weaker than expected, allowing Samsung to maintain its leadership of the European market."

Nonetheless, says Counterpoint, despite Apple's iPhone 14 seeing the weakest EU launch for a decade, it still helped smartphone shipments overall grow by 6% in Q4 2022, compared to Q32022. It's not clear if the researchers mean the iPhone 14 itself, or the entire annual lineup including the iPhone 14 Pro family, and the iPhone 14 Plus.

Q4 2022 saw some improvement, but not enough to lift the year. Source: Counterpoint

Stryjak ascribes the overall falling shipment numbers to how "there was no let up for European consumers in Q4 as the cost of living remained at record levels."

Initially, things are not likely to improve as Stryjak says that "the challenging macro climate and ongoing geopolitical tensions will continue into 2023 and potentially get worse initially as the cost-of-living crisis deepens through Winter."

Counterpoint expects the first half of 2023 to see "weakened consumer demand and high inventory levels," especially as "some countries are likely to fall into recession."

"However, inflation has stabilised and wholesale energy prices have dropped, leading to hopes of interest rate and energy bill cuts later in the year," says Stryjak. "This should boost consumer confidence and spur demand, leading to a better second half of the year."

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rob53 · February 23, 2023 2:02PM

So the European market is saturated and COL is at record levels. Then it's time for the EU to stop trying to make money by suing Apple. They would be better off focusing on the real problems instead of fake ones.

kmarei · February 23, 2023 2:26PM

Probably because there really isn't a reason to keep upgrading
90%+ of users don't really care about camera upgrades
cameras are already better than what most users need

If you have an iPhone X or higher, and your battery is still in good shape, or recently replaced
whats the incentive to upgrade?
other than to help apples share price

i Can guarantee you if apple gets over their making it thinner all the time.
and make a slightly thicker phone with double the battery life
they would see more sales
the number one complaint i here all the time (about all phones, not just iPhones) is I wish the battery would last longer

lkrupp · February 23, 2023 3:04PM

Good time to consider leaving the EU market.

avon b7 · February 23, 2023 4:03PM

lkrupp said:

Good time to consider leaving the EU market.

Or just reduce prices. The 41% YoY drop in iPhone sales in Spain is largely due to prices not being attractive in the current economic climate.

rob53 · February 23, 2023 4:42PM

avon b7 said:

lkrupp said:

Good time to consider leaving the EU market.

Or just reduce prices. The 41% You drop in iPhone sales in Spain is largely due to prices not being attractive in the current economic climate.

True but if you want quality you get Apple products not garbage android phones that end up being burner phones. Some Samsung phones cost as much as iPhones but from the stats it appears even junk phones aren’t being sold so stop complaining about iPhones.

spheric · February 23, 2023 5:58PM

Interesting that the 28% drop in sales corresponds quite nicely with the price increase due to exchange rate adjustment.

chasm · February 23, 2023 6:32PM

It should be pointed out that Apple has reported income and revenue for all of 2022, and the reports for each quarter show growth worldwide, including in Europe. Not to mention massive amounts of revenue despite supply-chain issues, the ongoing pandemic, and other problems.

Q1: Revenue up 11 percent year-over-year
Q2: Revenue up nine percent year-over-year
Q3: Revenue up two percent year-over-year
Q4: Revenue up eight percent year-over-year

Do any of you really think Apple could have achieved these results if European sales had plummeted?

Just because a professional guessing firm decides to make a fool of itself doesn’t mean anyone else should join the party.

danox · February 23, 2023 6:44PM

avon b7 said:

lkrupp said:

Good time to consider leaving the EU market.

Or just reduce prices. The 41% You drop in iPhone sales in Spain is largely due to prices not being attractive in the current economic climate.

Nope, the EU plebeians will be using Android in greater numbers, Apple, will occupy somewhere between 4%-6% of the EU market, in short the upper 5% of the smartphone market. A gatekeeper/monopoly of themselves.

Madbum · February 23, 2023 8:20PM

European are largely cheap Android ground anyways. Largely Stupid , cheap people who somehow is happy to live under un-elected commie like regulators like the EU?

The Asian people are , especially Japan, China and Taiwan are where Apple should be focused on

elmer · February 23, 2023 8:51PM

Madbum said:

European are largely cheap Android ground anyways. Largely Stupid , cheap people who somehow is happy to live under un-elected commie like regulators like the EU?

The Asian people are , especially Japan, China and Taiwan are where Apple should be focused on

Let me correct that for you:

Europeans ( plural, more than one ) are largely cheap Android ground ( What does that mean ? ) anyway ( singular ). Largely stupid, cheap people who somehow are ( plural, more than one ) happy to live under unelected ( no hyphen required ) commie like regulators like the EU?

Asia, especially Japan, China and Taiwan, is ( singular, only one Asia ) where Apple should be focusing on.

Corrected by a dyslexic European, you're welcome.

People buy what they want, if they want Apple they buy it, if they don't then they buy Android.

Who are you to say they are stupid ?

Bearing in mind Europeans invented the mobile phone, and the chips inside them.

avon b7 · February 23, 2023 9:57PM

danox said:

avon b7 said:

lkrupp said:

Good time to consider leaving the EU market.

Or just reduce prices. The 41% You drop in iPhone sales in Spain is largely due to prices not being attractive in the current economic climate.

Nope, the EU plebeians will be using Android in greater numbers, Apple, will occupy somewhere between 4%-6% of the EU market, in short the upper 5% of the smartphone market. A gatekeeper/monopoly of themselves.

I think Apple will prefer more sales instead of less.

13485 · February 24, 2023 1:50AM

elmer said:.

Who are you to say they are stupid ?

Bearing in mind Europeans invented the mobile phone, and the chips inside them.

Nobody thinks Europeans are stupid.

However, Bell Labs in the US was working on mobile/cell phones and a network in the late 1960s, and Martin Cooper of Motorola in Chicago actually invented the first Dynatac cell phone in the early 1970s.

danox · February 24, 2023 4:57PM

Madbum said:

European are largely cheap Android ground anyways. Largely Stupid , cheap people who somehow is happy to live under un-elected commie like regulators like the EU?

The Asian people are , especially Japan, China and Taiwan are where Apple should be focused on

Those who have the means in east Asia have shown over and over again in recent times, that they will buy high end products from the west. What they have no tolerance for is the cheaper western brands. Apple is the dominant smartphone maker in Japan. Apple numbers there are similar to the United States marketshare wise.

Apple also has a very strong presence, as well in China, next to the United States and Japan, the total numbers of iPhones sold, is larger in China (at 13% marketshare ) than any other place in the world, Europe however is a Android/Windows paradise by the marketshare numbers and Apple at less than 23% marketshare is a monopoly of itself according to the EU.

danox · February 24, 2023 5:04PM

avon b7 said:

danox said:

avon b7 said:

lkrupp said:

Good time to consider leaving the EU market.

Or just reduce prices. The 41% You drop in iPhone sales in Spain is largely due to prices not being attractive in the current economic climate.

Nope, the EU plebeians will be using Android in greater numbers, Apple, will occupy somewhere between 4%-6% of the EU market, in short the upper 5% of the smartphone market. A gatekeeper/monopoly of themselves.

I think Apple will prefer more sales instead of less.

Upon the return of Steve Jobs, Apple learned that marketshare isn’t the sole measure of success, making the best product you can is more important, somewhat similar to the high end German car makers, Apple won’t drop prices. They will however, try to make a better product but they won’t drop the prices.

avon b7 · February 24, 2023 7:02PM

danox said:

avon b7 said:

danox said:

avon b7 said:

lkrupp said:

Good time to consider leaving the EU market.

Or just reduce prices. The 41% You drop in iPhone sales in Spain is largely due to prices not being attractive in the current economic climate.

Nope, the EU plebeians will be using Android in greater numbers, Apple, will occupy somewhere between 4%-6% of the EU market, in short the upper 5% of the smartphone market. A gatekeeper/monopoly of themselves.

I think Apple will prefer more sales instead of less.

Upon the return of Steve Jobs, Apple learned that marketshare isn’t the sole measure of success, making the best product you can is more important, somewhat similar to the high end German car makers, Apple won’t drop prices. They will however, try to make a better product but they won’t drop the prices.

We aren't talking about marketshare but about selling enough to meet expectations. I'm sure that claimed 41% drop in Spanish unit sales has raised a few eyebrows.

As for Steve Jobs and his return to Apple, it wasn't long before this campaign was run, and specifically referring to marketshare:

https://www.macworld.com/article/161179/manifesto.html

chutzpah · February 24, 2023 7:11PM

Madbum said:

European are largely cheap Android ground anyways. Largely Stupid , cheap people who somehow is happy to live under un-elected commie like regulators like the EU?

The Asian people are , especially Japan, China and Taiwan are where Apple should be focused on

In 2022, the European smartphone market hit its lowest point in a decade

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