Smartphone sales are down. iPhone sales were down 15%, and other makers suffered even more. It seems we just don’t buy them anymore.
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Apple’s sales in the December quarter fell to 72.3 million iPhones, down from 85 million a year earlier. Samsung’s decline was similar, with Chinese manufacturer Xiaomi down more than 26%. While some of that was the effect of COVID finally going viral in China and iPhone factories closing for much of the quarter, some of it was also because we’re simply not buying as many phones.
“I believe the decline in new smartphone sales is not an anomaly and will continue as consumers become more aware of their spending habits and the impact of the smartphone market on the environment. The cost of living crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic have played a role, with people unable to afford the sky-high prices of newer phone models when they come out and choosing to stick with their older phones for much longer,” Steven Athwal, a U.K.-based telecommunications specialist, told Lifewire via email.
When Athwal lists the reasons behind the decline in smartphone sales, it’s easy to see how it’s created a perfect storm of problems for smartphone makers. But two of these reasons stand out as the fault of the phone makers themselves, particularly Apple.
