Canalys data showed Southeast Asia smartphone shipments started the year on an upbeat note with a double-digit year-on-year rise in January, riding on momentum from late 2023.

Shipments in Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam, Thailand and Malaysia increased 20 per cent year to 7.3 million units.

Samsung’s share across the region fell from 27 per cent to 20 per cent, with an 11 per cent drop in shipments to 1.5 million units.

Xiaomi’s shipments rose 128 per cent to 1.3 million, doubling its share to 18 per cent.

Transsion registered the fastest growth, up 190 per cent to 1.1 million units for a 15 per cent share, up from 6 per cent in January 2023.

Oppo’s shipments fell 6 per cent to 1.1 million, with its share dropping 4 percentage points to 15 per cent.

Vivo’s share remained at 12 per cent, with a 25 per cent increase in shipments to 900,000 units.

Indonesia and the Philippines were the two largest markets and led growth, with shipments up 12 per cent to 2.7 million units and 77 per cent to 1.5 million units, respectively.

Shipments in Thailand rose 5 per cent to 1.3 million units.

Canalys noted a slower-than-expected recovery in Vietnam, where shipments were down 2 per cent to 848,000 units.

Malaysia booked a 33 per cent sequential rise to 831,000 units.