Qualcomm feels the squeeze because you don't want a new smartphone right now

Qualcomm reported a 12 percent year-on-year slide in revenue for the first quarter of its fiscal 2023 amid weakening global demand in the smartphone market. The telecoms chipmaker generated $9.46 billion worth of sales for the quarter ended December 25 2022, down from $10.7 billion a year ago. Its net income was $2.23 billion …

[anonymous boring coward]

"However, it wasn't all bad - for company execs and investors"

Thank God for that!

[gerryg]

churn, much?

"worldwide smartphone sales fell 18.3 percent in Q4 to 300.3 million, and were down 11.3 percent for the year to 1.2 billion."

That's still one for about every six people on the planet, every year. And, alas, I am part of the problem. Bit shameful really.

[kat_bg]

Re: churn, much?

Well me too then... I don't see the point of replacing perfectly good phones every year..

[Nedzso]

surely sales were down because of the well publicised parts shortages ... especially chips ?

[doublelayer]

Shortages for components of phones have eased for this period, so not really. If you want a phone, you can go and get one quickly and cheaply if you get one that's designed to be fine rather than one that's designed to appeal to someone who doesn't know that there is a limited amount of money available.

People aren't buying as many phones because they don't need to replace them, because inflation has caused them to cut back on expensive items that they don't need to replace right now, or because they don't see advantages in any of the new products. It's happening the same way with a variety of other items, including most consumer tech.

[captain veg]

headline

"you don't want a new smartphone right now"

Actually, I do. I just don't want any of the models currently on offer through the usual channels.

I hate my current device with a vengeance. Unfortunately it is a very ordinary Android handset, albeit running LineageOS, so any likely replacement will be more of the same, just newer.

I've tried to like Apple kit, but it just doesn't work for me. I know that an iPhone is just a tiny computer. Apple knows it too. For some reason they go out of their way to hide this fact. I don't want that. I want my tiny handheld computer to behave like a computer, just one which fits in a pocket and is handily connected to the cellular network. I want to be able to install my choice of software by any means that I find convenient. I want to find the tools common to normal computers built in; things like the ability to connect to server shares, FTP, SSH, a usable email client. I wan't to see the real filesystem. Most of all, I want a physical keyboard.

I shall probably end up with something obscure running UBPorts and have to explain to corporate IT that no, my personal choice of smartphone can't run the authenticator app that's available "on all platforms".

Ho hum.

-A.

[Kev18999]

If they make phones with DIY upgradeable SOC sockets, I'm sure plenty of DIYers would buy a phone and upgrade the SOC every year. But handset makers wouldn't want to sell a phone that customers upgrade the SOC themselves.