Worldwide smartphone shipments last year fell to 1.21 billion, the lowest level since 2013, according to IDC data. 

The market intelligence firm attributed the 11.3% annual decline to inflation, lower consumer demand, and economic uncertainty. It also noted that consumers have generally waited longer to update their handsets as older models continue to offer good-enough functionalities.

• The weak market has caused smartphone vendors to be extra cautious when planning shipments, IDC said.
• In the latest figures, IDC said smartphone shipments in Q4 2022 fell 18.3% year over year, to a little over 300 million units.
• That represents the biggest-ever decline in a single quarter, and the first time phone shipments fell in the holiday quarter from the previous quarter, the agency said.
• Broken down by vendor, Apple had the most phone shipments in Q4. It shipped 72.3 million iPhones that quarter, a drop of nearly 15% YoY.
• Samsung was second with 58.2 million units shipped, following a similar decline of 15.6%.
• IDC said that low sales at the end of 2022 put the 2.8% growth forecast for 2023 "in serious jeopardy."