Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. (OTC:SSNLF) and other major smartphone makers face a tougher demand environment as rising component costs push handset prices higher in the U.S. and China, according to new research from Counterpoint Research.
Counterpoint analysts said Thursday that smartphone demand weakened across both major markets, with cost inflation emerging as a key pressure point. Rising memory costs are forcing manufacturers to increase prices while consumers remain sensitive to higher costs.
U.S. Smartphone Sales Fall 5%
U.S. smartphone sales fell 5% year over year in the second quarter as higher memory prices and broader macroeconomic pressures hurt consumer demand, Counterpoint analyst Blake Przesmicki said.
Sales across the four largest manufacturers — Apple, Samsung, Motorola and Alphabet Inc.’s (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Google — declined 4%. The rest of the market plunged 45% as smaller manufacturers struggled with higher component costs. Counterpoint said larger companies have used their scale to secure components at prices smaller rivals cannot justify.
