The global smartphone market in this year is expected to record its highest levels of growth since 2015. Shipments are projected to reach 1.38 billion units this year, marking a rise of 7.7 percent over last year.
According to an IDC report, the positive trend is expected to continue forward into the next year as well, with an expected year on year growth of 3.8 percent. The projected shipments for this period are said to be a total of 1.43 billion units. The report adds that this arrives as the world shifts towards 5G networking and 5G enabled handsets, while also retaining strong demand for low end and mid range 4G smartphones following last year’s pandemic that led to a decline in sales.
As per Anthony Scarsella, research manager with IDC, “2021 will represent the largest year-over-year growth the market has witnessed since 2015, as the shift towards 5G across all price tiers continues to accelerate. The 5G shift will also deliver peak smartphone ASPs in 2021 ($376, up 9.7% year over year) when compared to the remainder of the forecast period as costly 5G devices continue to replace LTE devices, which are also starting to drop in price, down 27% in 2021.”
Similarly, Ryan Reith, program vice president at IDC, added that “Smartphones are seeing competition for consumer spending from adjacent markets like PCs, tablets, TVs, and smart home devices, yet that hasn’t slowed the market’s path to recovery. The smartphone market returned to growth during the holiday quarter last year and since then we’ve only seen production from top suppliers ramp up. There continues to be a strong supply-side push toward 5G, and price points continue to drop as a result.”
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