According to beancounters at Canalys, sales into the channel plunged by nine per cent year-on-year to an estimated 296.21 million handsets. This is because with energy prices going through the roof, and the threat of nuclear war, punters have obtained a sense of perspective and decided to put off buying expensive shiny toys for a while.

Canalys analyst Amber Liu said the smartphone market was highly reactive to consumer demand and vendors were adjusting quickly to the harsh business conditions.

“For most vendors, the priority is to reduce the risk of inventory building up given deteriorating demand. Vendors had significant stockpiles going into July, but sell-through gradually improved from September owing to aggressive discounting and promotions.”

She added: “The pricing strategy of new products is cautiously crafted, even for Apple, to avoid significant pushback from consumers who now tend to be very sensitive to any price hike.”

Apple in particular is in a little hot water after its latest overpriced phone failed to come up with any new features while its price hiked higher. Many fanboys thought that they would give this model a miss as the one they already owned did the same things and would not cost them any more cash.

Demand isn’t expected to improve any time soon with sluggishness forecast until the second half of next year. As such smartphone brands are working with their distributors and resellers on a “prudent production forecast,” said Canalys.

Canalys thinks that if anyone is thinking of buying a new phone it might be wise to wait until after the Christmas sales as there will be significant cuts this year.