IDC: We’re Now Buying Fewer New Smartphones Than Ever

The world may well be coming close to reaching ‘peak smartphone’ following reports that global device sales are set to suffer a significant decline this year.

Figures from IDC suggest that the number of smartphones sales worldwide is set to grow 10.4 percent in 2015, a major fall from the 27.5 percent increase seen last year, as consumers increasingly stick with their existing devices.

However these predictions, from the analyst firm’s Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker, still equate to 1.44 billion smartphones being shipped in 2015, and the forecast for the next few years remains healthy.

Rise of the Android

This slightly stunted growth is still good news for Google’s Android platform, however, which is set to grow and possess 81.1 percent of the total smartphone market by the end of the year, recording shipments of over 1.1 billion units.

iOS will remain in second place with 15.6 percent (223.7m units), with Windows Phone recording a 5.6 percent growth to claim 2.6 percent of the market (36.9m units).

The latter is forecast to grow to around 3.6 percent by 2019, taking market share away from Apple (which is predicted to fall to just 14.2 percent) and recording a 12.8 percent growth in units shipped.

Full-screen

China, which remains the largest potential market for new smartphone sales, will see the biggest fall, with just a 1.2 percent year on year increase forecast for 2015, far down from the 19.7 percent seen in 2014.

However, its share of the overall market is expected to drop to 23.1 percent by 2019 as high-growth markets like India continue to expand.

Larger screen devices such as phablets will continue to drive sales in both developed and growing markets, as Apple’s iPhone 6 Plus has spawned a significant consumer demand for such units.

“Since Apple finally delivered a larger screen smartphone with the iPhone 6+, the demand for large screened devices among consumers has been at a record high,” said Anthony Scarsella, research manager with IDC’s Mobile Phones team.

“Smartphones featuring display sizes from 5.5 inches to 6 inches are forecast to grow 84 percent in 2015 compared to last year, while  phablets overall will make up over 71 percent of shipments by 2019.”

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