3 Reports Agree Smartphone Shipments Fell Q4 but Disagree How Much

Reports on global smartphone shipments agreed Q4 volumes declined but differed on magnitude. Smartphone vendors shipped a total of 403.5 million units in Q4, a 6.3 percent decline from the same quarter a year earlier, said IDC Thursday. The worldwide smartphone market shipped a total of 1.47 billion units in 2017, declining less than 1 percent, IDC said: “Developed markets such as China and the United States both witnessed a decline during the quarter as consumers appeared to be in no rush to upgrade to the newest generation of higher-priced flagship devices.” Strategy Analytics pegged the global Q4 decline higher -- at 9 percent to 400 million units -- the “biggest annual fall in smartphone history.” It blamed a “collapse in the huge China market,” where demand fell 16 percent due to longer replacement rates, fewer operator subsidies and “a general lack of wow models.” Global smartphone shipments last year grew 1 percent, topping 1.5 billion units for the first time, said SA. IHS Markit “preliminary data” showed global unit shipments declined 4.5 percent to 387.5 million smartphones, said Gerrit Schneemann, senior analyst-mobile location and mobile devices. Shipments for the year grew 3.1 percent to 1.44 billion units, Schneemann wrote Friday: “Of the leading handset brands, only Xiaomi and Motorola experienced shipment growth" in Q4.