People use mobile phones in Surakarta, Indonesia, July 17, 2016.
Solo Imagine | Barcroft Media | Getty Images
Southeast Asia’s smartphone shipments have continued to recover since early 2024, in contrast to the stagnation in other regions, as the promising market for mobile phone manufacturers continues to attract more brands and investment.
According to the top five markets in the region, 7.26 million smartphones were shipped, marking a significant 20% year-on-year increase. the study Technology market analyst firm Canalys made the announcement on Wednesday.
The results signal a market recovery that began in the fourth quarter of 2023, when Southeast Asia’s mobile phone shipments increased year-on-year for the first quarter in nearly two years, amid a broader industry recovery post-pandemic. continuing.
Canalys analyst Le Xuan Chiew said government support and momentum from the region’s sales events in late 2023 are stabilizing inflation pressures and restoring consumer sentiment and spending.
In the release, he cited trends such as affordable 5G, AI integration, and ecosystem development, noting that “smartphone manufacturers have adopted conservative strategies in the past six months to take advantage of this market resurgence. is currently developing an aggressive strategy to gain market dominance.” , channel optimization.
Samsung regained its top market share position in the region in January following the successful launch of its premium S24 series with extended battery life and new AI features.
However, Chinese competitors are more focused on the market, establishing themselves and offering new mobile phone models at competitive prices. Xiaomi, the region’s second-largest mobile phone brand by shipments in January, recorded 128% year-on-year growth, while Transsion, a relative newcomer to the market, recorded 190% growth.
“Increasing disposable income from the region’s growing middle class and young working population is a major reason to expect increased investment,” said Chu.
The strong smartphone shipments in Southeast Asia are in contrast to China, the world’s largest smartphone market, where smartphone sales fell 7% year-on-year in the first six weeks of 2024. Tuesday’s report From Counterpoint Research.
Senior analyst Ivan Lam said in a report that sales declines in China were exacerbated by unusually high sales in early 2023, but other factors were limiting the market’s weakness.
“Consumer confidence needs to increase to stabilize the market, and that’s a difficult decision given everything that’s going on right now, especially in the real estate sector,” he said.
One of the casualties was Apple, with smartphone shipments in China dropping 24% in the first six weeks of this year, according to the study. This decline was partly due to the resurgence of local competitor Huawei, but also because of Apple’s unusually high shipments in early 2023 due to early production delays.
But as growth in smartphone markets such as China and the United States slows, premium phone brands such as Apple and Huawei are increasingly turning to emerging markets such as Southeast Asia, where growth is expected. .
According to data from Canalys, Southeast Asia’s mobile phone market is expected to grow 7% year-on-year in 2024, which is much faster than the 3% growth rate in the rest of the world. Meanwhile, China is expected to grow by 1%, while the North American market is forecast to be flat.
According to a report from bloomberg, Construction of Apple’s first retail store in Malaysia has already begun. On the other hand, Huawei strengthen ties It works with partners in Southeast Asia, including Indonesian telecommunications company Telkomsel.
Indonesia remains Southeast Asia’s largest smartphone market, accounting for 38% of shipments in January, according to a Canalys report. The Philippines, the second largest market, showed the strongest growth, with January shipments up 77% year-on-year.
The next largest markets were Thailand, Vietnam, and Malaysia. Vietnam was the only country where shipments decreased year-on-year, by 2%.
