After two consecutive quarters of positive growth, IDC has raised its near-term forecast for the global smartphone market. IDC’s global quarterly mobile phone tracking shows that in 2021, smartphone shipments are expected to reach 1.38 billion units. This will be an increase of 7.7% over 2020. According to the organization, this trend will continue until 2022 where it will have a year-on-year growth of 3.8%. In addition, the total shipments will be 1.43 billion units.
Many markets around the world that have deployed 5G networks are continuing to migrate to 5G equipment. However, emerging markets are still struggling with 5G after the global pandemic. These emerging markets seems to have more interest for low-end and mid-range 4G mobile phones. Looking ahead, IDC predicts that low single-digit growth will continue until 2025, with a five-year compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 3.7%.