The Philippines smartphone market fell 16.7 percent quarter over quarter (QoQ) and 11 percent year over year (YoY) to 3.5 million units for the first quarter of 2023, according to the IDC report.

“The last time shipments hit below 3.5 million records was back in 1Q20 when the pandemic just started and the first lockdown was implemented,” says Angela Medez, Client Devices Senior Market Analyst at IDC Philippines.

Transsion (with 19.5 percent share), Realme (18.7 percent), Oppo (15.5 percent), Vivo (13.1 percent), Xiaomi (11.9 percent), and Others (18.7 percent) are the leading suppliers in the Philippines smartphone market in Q1 2023.

Transsion climbed to the top spot, ending Realme’s two-year streak as top the ranking smartphone company in the Philippines.

Transsion’s sub-brand, Tecno, grew 33.7 percent YoY and 107.8 percent QoQ contributing more than 50 percent to the company’s total shipments, surpassing Infinix’s share.

Tecno’s rise is attributable to its aggressive campaigns offering new models at different price points (with its Spark Go 2023 model leading its growth) as well as introducing its Phantom series, initiating the brand’s entry in the US$500+ band.