Seoul, Apr 3 (IANS): Sales of smartphones in South Korea fell 6 per cent last year from a year earlier amid an economic slowdown, industry data showed on Monday.

Samsung Electronics, the world's leading smartphone maker, saw its smartphone sales decline 2 per cent on-year in its home country in 2022, while sales of Apple's iPhone inched down 0.4 per cent from a year ago, market analyst firm Counterpoint Research said without providing any further details on sales volumes.

Sales of other players tumbled 71 per cent on-year last year due to a base effect stemming from LG Electronics' exit from the mobile business in 2021.

Samsung Electronics' Galaxy S22 Ultra was the bestselling smartphone model last year, followed by the Galaxy Z Flip 4, Galaxy S22 5G and iPhone 13.

The combined sales of 10 top-selling smartphone models accounted for 46 percent of the total sales last year, down 7 percentage points from a year ago.

"Lingering economic uncertainties will drag down demand for budget smartphones this year," Shin Kyung-hwan, an analyst from Counterpoint Research, said. "Apple's iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max will lead the local smartphone market in the first quarter."