Canalys reported smartphone shipments in the Middle East excluding Turkey dropped 3.5 per cent year-on-year in Q1, ending a nine-month run of growth.

The research company noted the region outperformed the global market, which declined 13 per cent.

Analyst Sanyam Chaurasia noted the Middle East faces challenges including persistent inflation, increased interest rates and unpredictable geopolitical developments, but predicted full year shipments would be on par with 2022.

“Even with the current difficulties in the region, the long-term potential of the smartphone market remains strong.”

Samsung’s market share was down two percentage points to 43 per cent as shipments fell to 3.8 million from 4 million in Q1 2022.

Apple’s market share increased four percentage points to 15 per cent on shipments of 1.3 million units compared with 1 million.

Xiaomi’s shipments were flat on 1 million, with market share remaining at 11 per cent.

Transsion’s market share fell from 35 per cent to 11 per cent and shipments dropped from 1.4 million to 900,000.

Oppo’s market share fell from 5 per cent to 4 per cent on shipments of 300,000, down 35.9 per cent.