Monday Morning Impact – May 5
Canalys: Global Smartphone Market Flattens in Q1
The worldwide smartphone market grew 1% year on year in Q1 2025, according to the latest research from Canalys. The modest growth came amid persistent macroeconomic headwinds, cautious consumer sentiment and delayed channel inventory digestion. Samsung took the global lead with a 20% market share, while Apple followed closely with an 18% share.
“The overall environment proved to be more volatile than anticipated in Q1 2025, while the global market continued its recovery,” said Amber Liu, Research Manager at Canalys. “Following a strong finish to 2024, vendors pushed high inventory volumes into channels to gain share. But slower-than-expected sell-through extended inventory cycles, dampening sell-in momentum in early 2025. Unlike 2024’s recovery, which was driven by a post-pandemic upgrade cycle and mass-market affordability, this year’s rebound is proving more fragile.
“Escalating global trade tensions are creating fresh uncertainties for smartphone vendors in 2025,” continued Liu. “In the US, vendors such as Apple, Samsung and Lenovo are already grappling with weaker domestic demand and the looming threat of increased operational costs due to impending tariffs. In response, Apple front-loaded shipments in early April, pulling forward Q2 inventory to mitigate potential cost hikes. Globally, while the full scope and timing of the new tariffs remain uncertain, vendors are bracing for higher component prices and softer export demand in affected markets. To reduce exposure, vendors and supply chain partners are accelerating diversification strategies, shifting production bases, reassessing sourcing models and optimizing logistics. These dynamics are expected to disrupt profitability and extend planning cycles throughout the worldwide smartphone industry in 2025.”
“Cautious consumer sentiment driven by global macroeconomic challenges muted the typical seasonal uplift in Q1,” said Sanyam Chaurasia, Senior Analyst at Canalys. “Even festive periods in key markets, such as Ramadan, delivered softer demand than expected. In response to a more gradual recovery in volume, vendors are prioritizing profitability while remaining active and flexible with market investments. Tactics include dynamic channel incentive schemes to encourage sell-in, collaborations with distributors to expand financing in emerging markets and agile channel pricing strategies to strike a balance between overall profitability and price competitiveness.”
Canalys’ worldwide Smartphone Analysis service provides a country-level view of shipment estimates, including quarterly market share data, historical data tracking, and analysis of storage, processors, memory, cameras and many other specs. Canalys-Omdia clients can get more details through a report entitled, “Omdia – Assessing the Impact of US Tariffs.”
Channel Impact®
The mobile phone data may be viewed as a harbinger for what is to come in other technology product categories, as well.
TD Synnex Rolls Out New Specialized Community Structure
TD Synnex has announced a new structure for its partner communities in North America that is designed to strengthen, empower and boost partner growth through what the company calls “intentional connection.”
The overall PartnerLink program aligns members to one of the newly established communities based on their areas of specialization or geographic focus, fostering stronger peer-to-peer relationships. There are currently four communities as part of this launch.
PartnerLink “Ascend” is for US-based partners dedicated to facilitating clients’ digital transformation leveraging advanced infrastructure, security, cloud, and analytics solutions powered by AI.
The “Advantage” category is for US-based partners dedicated to advancing infrastructure modernization to improve the efficiency, reliability, and sustainability across various sectors.
PartnerLink “Canada” and “Public Sector” address the needs of those two respective channel demographics.
The new structure, which build upon the success and history of previous TD Synnex partner communities, including CommunitySolv, is intended to help partners to stay future-ready across all technology categories. Benefits will be specific to each community, providing greater access to specialized training, networking and business-building opportunities. Community members will also have access to early adoption opportunities, exclusive incentives and dedicated support teams.
Each community will have tailored benefits around four core principles: Lead, Innovate, Network and Knowledge. One key benefit is a new dedicated online, central member hub where community members can engage 24-7.
“Encouraging customer growth through communities is an integral part of our business, and we want to continue that legacy with an approach that supports our partners of the future and their rapidly changing business models,” said Gary Palenbaum, EVP of Revenue and Customer Success. “This new structure will encourage more direct customer engagement across all channels and offer tailored, meaningful benefits to partners, wherever they are in their journey.”
The program is open to all TD Synnex partners in North America.
Channel Impact®
The new approach is designed to support partners with their growth and evolution through enhanced benefits and tools that will give them increased competitive advantage.
Sift Expands Partner Program for Identity Trust Across Global Markets
Sift, a San Francisco-based company with an AI-powered identity trust platform, has updated its partner program. Key components include dedicated partner support from partner managers and SEs; a slate of new marketing tools, including co-branded collateral and Market Development Funds; technical training and certification programs; and also deal registration and referral initiatives.
The program is designed to serve multiple partnership categories, including Influence Partners, Authorized Resellers, and Service Providers. Each partner category is aligned with prescribed annual sales revenue goals, technical capabilities, and product certifications.
“Our go-to-market partners seek alignment with market leaders who can solve the risk-revenue equation,” said Leslie Lorenco, VP of Global Channel Sales. “Sift’s platform addresses the spectrum of consumer journey fraud challenges—from account takeover to payment fraud—with identity trust at the core for hundreds of global brands. Our expanded partner program creates a clear on-ramp for partners to tap into a rapidly expanding $40B fraud prevention market while delivering measurable value to their customers.”
Sift currently claims more than 700 customers, including DoorDash, Yelp, and Poshmark.
Channel Impact®
The program’s objective is to support partners in transforming digital risk into revenue opportunities on a global level.
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