Newly released data from IDC’s Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker shows that shipments of mobile phones to the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region declined 8.9% quarter on quarter (QoQ) in quarter two (Q2) of 2022 to total 5.56 million units.
Smartphone shipments were down 8.0% QoQ to 5.03 million units, while feature phone shipments declined 16.9% over the same period to 0.53 million units. In terms of value, the GCC smartphone market was worth $1.83 billion in Q2 2022, a decrease of 11.6% QoQ, while the feature phone market totaled $10.15 million, down 9.1%.
Saudi Arabia accounted for 51.6% of all smartphones shipped across the GCC in Q2 2022, although shipments to the Kingdom were down 10.8% QoQ in unit terms. The UAE, which is the GCC’s second-largest market, accounted for 24.0% of the region’s overall smartphone market, with shipments to the country declining 11.4% QoQ.
Samsung led the GCC smartphone market in unit terms in Q2 2022 with 48.4% share, despite seeing its shipments to the region decline 6.3% QoQ. Second-placed Apple, with 16.0% share, saw shipments decline 4.4% QoQ, with consumers awaiting the release of the iPhone 14 series of devices in Q3 2022. Rounding out the top three, Xiaomi accounted for 15.2% of the GCC smartphone market in Q2 2022 but suffered a 6.2% QoQ decline in shipments as it shifted its focus to midrange and high-end devices.
The GCC smartphone market is forecast by IDC to grow 6.6% QoQ in Q3 2022. Regional events like the FIFA World Cup 2022 in Qatar will help drive retail footfall in the region, while the release of new Apple devices will help drive overall value growth, according to the research group.
