TrendForce has reported new findings which show a historic low in global production volume, as the ongoing "economic downturn” continues to impact consumer confidence.

Smartphone Production Plummets to Record Low – Apple and Samsung’s Performance Examined

Adriana MaraisJune 20, 23 Apple, Oppo, Samsung, Smartphones

According to a recent report by TrendForce, the decline in smartphone sales can be attributed to the ongoing economic downturn, which has affected consumer confidence. Some experts even argue that smartphones have already reached their peak in popularity.

In support of this, TrendForce reports that global smartphone production in the first quarter of this year was around 250 million units, representing a 14.5% year-on-year decline in total production. TrendForce said this decline represents “not only the largest annual decline, but also the historically low quarterly output since 2014.”

Individual smartphone OEMs fared differently – some reported increases in production volume, while others saw massive declines. For example, Apple experienced a 27.5% decline in the first quarter of 2023, producing approximately 53.3 million units. iPhone 14 models accounted for 78% of total production, and TrendForce expects a slight improvement for the iPhone maker, predicting a 20% drop in production in the second quarter of 2023.

On the other hand, Samsung managed to reverse the trend and reported a 5.5% increase for the quarter, producing a total of 61.5 million units. The well-received Galaxy S23 series, and especially the Galaxy S23 Ultra, likely played a significant role in this.

Oppo (including Oppo, Realme and OnePlus) improved its production volume in the first quarter of this year to 26.8 million units, but this represented a 17 percent decline compared to the previous quarter. However, TrendForce expects a turnaround for Oppo in the second quarter and production is expected to increase by more than 30%.

Other players such as Xiaomi (including Xiaomi, Redmi, POCO) and Vivo (including iQOO) also reported declines in production – with quarterly declines of 27.4% and 14.2%, respectively.

The report further states that due to the economic slowdown, people are turning to the used phone market and that could “potentially hamper Q2 smartphone production growth.”