Global smartphone shipments fell 18.3% year-on-year to 300.3 million units in the fourth quarter of 2022, according to the latest report from research firm IDC. The drop contributed to a sharp 11.3% year-to-date decrease and is also the largest drop in a single quarter. The firm also found that a total of 1.21 billion smartphones were shipped in 2022, the lowest annual shipment volume since 2013. IDC attributes this to a significant drop in consumer demand, inflation and economic uncertainty.

“We did not see lower deliveries in a holiday quarter than in the previous quarter. However, weakening demand and high inventories have caused suppliers to cut supplies sharply,” said Nabila Popal, research director for IDC’s Worldwide Tracker group. “This holiday quarter tells us that rising inflation and growing macroeconomic concerns continue to push consumer spending more than expected, delaying a possible recovery until late 2023.”

Apple took the lead with 72.3 million units shipped in the fourth quarter of 2022, up from 85 million in 2021. Samsung came in second with 58.2 million units, down nearly 11 million units from 2021. Meanwhile, Xiaomi, OPPO and Vivo shipped 33.2 million, 25.3 million and 22.9 units respectively.

However, as for total shipments for all of 2022, Samsung received 260.9 million units, down 4.1% from 272.1 million units in 2021. Meanwhile, Apple was second with 226.4 million device shipments, down 4.0% from the previous year. Xiaomi, OPPO and Vivo are back in the top five with a drop in shipments.

“While 2022 is down more than 11%, 2023 will be a prudent year as vendors rethink their device portfolios and channels think twice before using excess inventory,” said Anthony Scarsella, IDC research director. “However, on the positive side, consumers can experience more generous trade-in offers and promotions continuing through 2023 as the market seeks new ways to promote upgrades and sell more devices, especially high-end models.”