Global smartphone sales won’t pick up until the year-end holiday season of 2023, battery supplier TDK has warned, offering the most cautious outlook yet on the lackluster market hit by inflationary and geopolitical pressures.

Tokyo-based TDK, which provides batteries for the entire mobile industry including Apple's iPhone, sees little indication of a rebound following major declines in handset sales, especially in the key market of China.

"I don’t hear any cheerful views from customers, and I expect the situation we face today will last until the middle of the next year, followed by a gradual recovery from late next year,” TDK President Noboru Saito said in an interview. He points to the releases of new devices in the second half of 2023 as the catalyst for a recovery in positive sentiment.