Smartphone shipments in the Middle East (excluding Turkey) have declined year-on-year, but despite this, expectations were much lower, and the market performed significantly better than anticipated. Samsung led the Middle Eastern smartphone market in Q1 2023 and was followed by Apple.
Market watchers were expecting the Middle Eastern market to record an annual decline of 13% by the end of Q1 2023. However, new data from Canalys shows that the market declined only 3.5% year-on-year in Q1. 8.8 million smartphones were shipped to the Middle East in the first three months of the year.
Smartphone shipments in Saudi Arabia grew by 1%, while in the UAE, they declined by 3% year-on-year. Likewise, Iraq shipments declined by 3%, while Kuwait recorded an 11% annual shipment decline. However, shipments in Israel increased by 26% year-on-year as consumers began looking for premium smartphones.
Samsung led Q1 smartphone shipments in the Middle East
The Middle Eastern smartphone market was led by Samsung in Q1 2023. The Korean tech giant recorded 3.8 million smartphone shipments in the first quarter of the year and captured 43% of the segment. However, the company experienced negative -5.3% annual growth.
Meanwhile, Apple, which shipped only 1.3 million devices in Q1, captured 15% of the market and recorded annual growth of 35.4%. Samsung and Apple were followed by Xiaomi (1 million shipments and 11% market share), Transsion (0.9 million shipments and 11% share), and Oppo (0.3 million shipments and 4% market share).
As for Galaxy smartphone models, market watchers say that the Galaxy S23 series is gaining momentum. The flagship has been successful all around and appears to have helped Samsung drive up sales and shipment figures in Q1. Nevertheless, analysts say that the Galaxy A series “still drives market share” in the Middle East despite the annual shipment decline.
