Global smartphone shipments expected to decline this year, but…

Global smartphone shipments are expected to decline this year, according to IDC (International Data Corporation). That info has been relayed by CNET.

Global smartphones shipments expected to decline this year, but there’s an upside

The source cites a weak economy and higher inflation as the reason for this decline. The very last forecast claims that we’ll see a 3.2% decline. That is considerably higher than what was predicted back in February (1.1% drop). 1.17 billion smartphones are expected to ship this year.

There is an upside, however. Smartphone shipments are expected to rebound next year. IDC expects smartphone shipments to increase by 6% year-over-year in 2024. IDC did point out, however, that consumer demand is recovering at a much slower pace than analysts predicted.

IDC’s Ryan Reith, group vice president, Mobility and Consumer Device Tracker, also touched upon foldables. He said that more and more foldables are hitting the market, and that it’s a positive step, but unfortunately that’s happening at an unfortunate time.

IDC actually expects smartphone shipments to grow for years after 2023

Now, IDC actually expected shipments to rise in 2025, 2026, and 2027 too. The company actually expected smartphone shipments to be close to 1.4 billion in 2027.

So, not everything is bleak as it seems. This year may not be the best for several reasons, but an improvement is expected in the coming years. Based on IDC’s predictions, we’re in for at least four years of smartphone market growth following 2023.

Foldable smartphones will surely have something to do with it. It’s an exciting new category of devices, and more and more of them are coming to the market. In the coming years, rollable smartphones are also expected.

We do hope that IDC’s predictions will come to fruition, though nothing is guaranteed, of course. Things could end up being considerably different, it remains to be seen.