US smartphone shipments declined YoY for the fourth straight quarter in Q3 2023 amid weak consumer demand.
Google, Samsung and TCL were among the brands recording the steepest YoY declines, while Motorola and Nokia HMD managed growth amid a challenging market environment.
Apple’s iPhone shipments declined 11% YoY, in part due to the later launch date of the iPhone 15 series compared to the iPhone 14 series.
Weak upgrade rates at the carriers were the main source of weak smartphone shipments, signaling that consumers are opting to hold on to their devices for longer.
We are well past the point where there is real marginal utility in an upgrade every 2 years.
I expect most people are moving to 3 and 4 year upgrade cycles.
Aside from inflation and limited benefit of upgrading, subscriptions for every little thing are depleting discretionary income.
People just don’t have the spending money anymore for phones. Especially given how expensive the flagships are.
I need to replace my Pixel 6 Pro soon (cracked screen, issues with phone in general) and out of curiosity I checked iPhones. The last few versions all have very similar specs, I could get a 12 and wouldn’t be missing too much. I can see why people would constantly upgrade.
It’s because new phones are too big! I’m planning to take my reasonably-sized phone to the grave!
