Pinoys favor cheap Chinese phones as inflation tames spending

The sales of smartphones in the country showed another quarter of decline, albeit at a slower rate, as consumers tightened their belts amid elevated prices of commodities, according to International Data Corp. (IDC).

According to IDC Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker, smartphone shipments in the second quarter shrank by 2.1 percent to 4.2 million units. The drop was an improvement from the 11-percent decrease in January to March.

Cautious spending due to inflation has resulted in “eight consecutive quarters of annual contraction,” said Angela Medez, client devices senior market analyst of IDC Philippines.

In April to June, Chinese mobile phone brand Transsion was the market leader with a 38-percent share. It was also the top brand in the previous quarter.

Tecno, Transsion’s sub-brand, grew by 237 percent, which it attributed to “multiple model launches, led by its Spark 10 series.”

Rounding up the top three were Realme with 16.3 percent and Xiaomi with 11.5 percent. Oppo took 10.7 percent; while Samsung, 9.8 percent. INQ