Interestingly, Windows 10 S found a niche with schools and enterprise customers thanks to its lower licensing cost. This may be one reason why Microsoft’s mobile division saw year-on-year growth in revenue for the first time since 2014. However, pressure from Android and iOS drove poor results from Alphabet’s newly formed hardware division, which has been struggling to compete against Shenzhen’s smartphones made by rivals Xiaomi and Apple shipped almost three times as much as Google’s Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL devices last quarter.
The downturn in the industry can be attributed to a variety of factors including slowing figures pre-dating 2020, the pandemic and its various knock-on effects, as well as macroeconomic headwinds. While it is difficult to predict how things will change in the future, it is likely that the industry will encounter further challenges in the years ahead.

By 2021, the global semiconductor market will reach USD 289.8 billion according to a new study by Canalys. This growth
The top two smartphone companies of Q4 2022 were Apple and Samsung. Samsung held onto No. 2, but still captured the top spot for the entirety of the year. This is largely due to Apple’s return to the top spot for Q4, which was its first time doing so in over a year.
What is causing the channel to be cautious in taking on new inventory? This could be a result of strong promotional incentives from vendors and channels, or it could simply be that the holiday sales season helped to reduce inventory levels. While low-to-mid-range demand fell fast in previous quarters, high-end demand began to show weakness in Q4. This suggests that there may still be room for growth in this area of the market, given that many luxury brands have yet to reach their full potential.
What is driving these trends? Global trade restrictions have eased up in recent years, but external factors are starting to weigh on the industry. Economic uncertainty and inflation are major challenges for companies, and they don’t expect much of a rebound in growth until those issues dissipate.
What could be the major long-term effects from increasing unemployment rates and interest rates, as well as other economic issues? In terms of individual markets, there could be some adverse effects for mid-to-high-end dominated markets – including North America and parts of Europe. However, China is expected to remain resilient due to its large smartphone market.