It’s no mystery that the tech industry is in a choke hold right now. Right now, tech companies are dealing with supply chain issues, the lingering effects of the Coronavirus pandemic, and a limping economy. This is negatively impacting the number of phones that can go out to shelves.
Smartphone shipments are down 9% year over year from Q2 2021
Smartphone shipments have been fluctuating over the last couple of years as the global economy tries to piece itself back together. Companies aren’t able to build as many phones as they could. That halts the whole process. Also, people just aren’t able to buy phones like they could in the olden days. People who used to buy the most premium flagships now have to settle for mid-rangers. People who relied on mid-rangers now have to get budget phones. This leaves a space open for companies to focus more on mid-range devices. While this is happening, the flagship phones remain unsold and they pile up in warehouses. That’s the sort of issue that would affect companies like Samsung and Apple more than others. These two companies sell a lot of flagship phones, so they build a lot more of them. One tragic thing about this situation is that phone prices seem to be on the rise across the board, but the amount of money that people make remains unchanged or falls. The Galaxy Z Flip 4 and the Galaxy Z Fold 4, for example, are expected to cost $50 more and $100 than their predecessors, respectively. The economic downturn makes these $1000+ phones seem less and less enticing. Companies are going to have to change their strategies going forward if they want to avoid any more losses in the market, as stated by Canalys.
