Canalys Research Analyst Chiew Le Xuan says demand for 5G smartphones in Southeast Asia is stagnant.

“The demand for 5G devices has come to a standstill,” said Canalys Research Analyst Chiew Le Xuan. “5G devices experienced their first sequential decline to 18 percent of overall smartphone shipments. 5G deployment in developing Southeast Asian markets has been abysmal. Practical uses of 5G have yet to be seen, and is especially unnecessary for low-mid devices when 4G speeds are sufficient in day-to-day usage.”

Smartphone shipments in Southeast Asia have dropped 7 percent from the previous quarter to 24.5 million units in Q2 2022.

Sequential growth in smartphone shipment was +6 percent in Malaysia, +2 percent in Indonesia and +4 percent in the Philippines. Sequential decline in smartphone shipment was –14 percent in Thailand and –20 percent in Vietnam, Canalys report said.

Indonesia

Smartphone shipments in Indonesia were 9.1 million in Q2 2022. Samsung led the market with 20 percent share, while Vivo has 19 percent market share due to enhanced aggressiveness in both retail and online channels.

Transsion replaced Realme at number five in Indonesia for the first time due  to its enhanced online branding push with Infinix. Infinix’s Hot series attracted consumers in the sub-US$200 price range.

Philippines

Smartphone shipments in the Philippines touched 4.4 million (+4 percent against the previous quarter as vendor activity picked up in Q2. Realme retook the top spot from Transsion, penetrating the mass-market segment via its volume-driver C35 series and increasing online channel activities using the Narzo series. Transsion, despite experiencing a sequential dip in Q2, met offline consumer demand in tier-2 cities and built distributor confidence. Xiaomi and OPPO grew 10 percent and 55 percent, respectively. Xiaomi’s growth was attributed to the popularity of its Redmi 10 series which was welcomed by offline channels.

Thailand

Smartphone shipments in Thailand declined 14 percent sequentially to 4 million units. Xiaomi recovered against Q1, mainly driven by consumer demand for its volume-driver models across its offline channels. Smartphone vendors are looking to optimize channel efficiency in Thailand to reduce margin pressures. Thailand operators have stepped up efforts in bundling and promotions to reignite consumer demand, although with varying degrees of effectiveness.

Vietnam

Smartphone shipments in Vietnam declined 32 percent to 3.1 million shipments. Vietnam remains a strategic country for Samsung as it leads the market with a 41 percent share.

Malaysia

Smartphone shipments in Malaysia grew 6 percent to 2.4 million shipments versus Q1 2022. Samsung doubled its effort in the channel to push the shipment of its revamped A-series.