In brief: The first three quarters of 2022 were difficult ones for the smartphone industry. The pandemic ensured constant YoY declines, merely the marketplace turned effectually in Q4. Apple tin take a lot of credit for the reversal: Cupertino sold more than handsets than any other vendor has ever managed in a single quarter.

IDC'south latest worldwide smartphone shipments report reveals that 385.9 1000000 handsets shipped betwixt Oct 1 – Dec 31 final twelvemonth, marking a iv.iii pct increase compared to the same quarter in 2022.

It was a bumper catamenia for Apple tree. The company shipped 90.1 million iPhones in Q4, taking 23.4 percent of the full marketplace. It also had the largest yearly growth rate of any company: 22.2 pct.

In its recent earnings written report, Apple said Q4 was its kickoff quarter to bring in over $100 billion in sales, 59 percent of which came from iPhones.

Apple was followed past Samsung in second and Xiaomi in tertiary. The Chinese house'southward 32 percent YoY growth was the largest of the top 5 firms.

It was bad news for Huawei; with United states sanctions now finally having an effect, the 32.2 1000000 smartphones it shipped marked a 42.4 percentage decrease compared to the previous year. The visitor sold its Honor unit for over $15 billion in November, and may practice the same with its Mate and P brands.

"There are a lot of elements at play that are fueling the smartphone market recovery – pent-up demand, continued supply push on 5G, aggressive promotions, and the popularity of low to mid-priced phones," said Nabila Popal, research director with IDC'due south Worldwide Mobile Device Trackers.

"Lockdowns likewise have people spending less on areas like leisure, travel, and dining out – and smartphones are benefitting from this. In add-on to all these factors, the fast recovery and resilience of the smartphone supply chain also has to be given some credit."

Overall shipments for the entire year were just under 1.3 billion. That's still 5.9 percent lower than 2022, but IDC believes demand is prepare to grow, and the market'southward recovery will accelerate.