Supply chain and component shortages hurt the number of smartphones shipped in the second half of 2021, resulting in a 4.5% decline in the six months, according to IDC.
For the fourth quarter, shipments were down 3.2% year-over-year, IDC said.
“There’s no question the second half of 2021 failed to meet expectations,” said Ryan Reith, group vice president at IDC. “The supply chain and component shortages started to have meaningful impact on the smartphone market as we entered the second half of the year, and this continues to be the case as we’ve now entered 2022.”
Supply and logistical challenges will continue through the first half of 2022, but IDC projects growth in the second quarter and second half with continuing strong demand in many markets and interest in 5G phones and foldables.
Apply had an impressive holiday quarter, beating out Samsung for the most smartphone shipments in the fourth quarter. Even so, Apple’s shipments in the quarter declined by nearly 3% over the prior year period. Samsung’s shipments increased by 3%. Apple shipped nearly 85 million phones in 4Q, while Samsung shipped nearly 69 million.
Smartphone shipments increased for all of 2021 by nearly 6% when compared to the prior year, reaching 1.35 billion smartphones.
“2021 would have come in drastically higher if it were not for the supply constraints,” said Nabila Popal, research director at IDC.
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