Global Smartphone Unit Shipments Expected to Rise 3% This Year, Says IDC

Global smartphone unit shipments are expected to rise 3 percent in 2017, a slight improvement over the 2.5 percent growth rate recorded in 2016, IDC said in a Tuesday report. “With several major devices entering the market this year, IDC anticipates shipment volumes will grow to 1.52 billion in 2017.” IDC expects that momentum to carry into 2018, when smartphone shipments are forecast to grow 4.5 percent, “fueled by improved economic conditions in many emerging markets and a full year of new iPhone shipments from Apple,” it said. One “big topic” in the smartphone industry is “the intense fight for the high end of the market,” IDC said. Samsung “made a lot of noise” with its recent Galaxy S8 and S8+ device launches, and “all signs point to late 2017 being one of Apple's biggest, if not the biggest, product announcements with the highly anticipated next round of iPhones,” it said.