5G Phones to Be 6% of Handset Sales Next Year, Rising to 51% in 2023, Says Gartner

Gartner expects 5G phones to be 51 percent of total handset sales globally in 2023, it reported Wednesday. Mobile operators began launching such service this year in parts of the U.S., South Korea, Switzerland, Finland and the U.K., “but it will take time for carriers to expand 5G coverage beyond major cities,” it said. Gartner estimates 7 percent of global communications service providers “will have a commercially viable wireless 5G service” by next year: “This will mark significant progress from 5G proofs of concept and commercial network construction work in 2018.” Though 2019's first half saw release of the first fifth-generation smartphones, several OEMs likely will introduce more affordable ones in 2020 in a bid to reverse declining sales, it said. Gartner estimates global smartphone shipments will decline 3.8 percent this year to 1.75 billion units. The researcher projects 5G-capable phones will be 6 percent of total phone sales next year and "as 5G service coverage increases, user experience will improve and prices will decrease.”