Paris (October 15, 2023): Global ODM smartphone shipments declined 6% year-over-year in the first half of 2023, according to Counterpoint Research's Smartphone ODM Tracker — a significantly better result than the overall smartphone market, which fell 12% YoY over the same period. The data indicates that brands outsourcing hardware design and production to ODM partners held up more consistently through the post-COVID demand correction than the market as a whole.
Mobiwire maintained its position in the global ODM market through the period. The company's smartphone programs — spanning consumer devices across emerging markets in Africa, South Asia, and Latin America — continued to ship against a backdrop of broader industry contraction, as demand in those regions proved more resilient than mature markets.
"When the market contracts, brands still need hardware — they just scrutinize the cost of producing it more carefully," said Pierre Dupic, CEO, Mobiwire. "An ODM relationship converts fixed R&D and manufacturing costs into variable ones. Brands pay for engineering and production at the volume they need. During periods of demand uncertainty, that flexibility is exactly what makes the model attractive, and I think that's what the Counterpoint data reflects."
The H1 2023 outperformance added to a longer-term trend of growing ODM share in global smartphone shipments, as more brands across consumer and enterprise segments have shifted to outsourced hardware design rather than maintaining in-house development capabilities.
Access the Counterpoint report here.
