Gartner Predicts 5G Smartphones as 12% of 2020 Handset Market

Global smartphone sales to end users will rise 3 percent this year to 1.57 billion, forecast Gartner. There was a 2 percent decrease in 2019, the first decline since 2008, it said Tuesday. Gartner described 2019 as a challenging year for vendors facing an “oversupply in the high-end sector in mature markets,” plus “longer replacement cycles overall.” It’s basing forecasts of a 2020 rebound on the “introduction of 5G network coverage in more countries." The researcher expects users “who may have delayed their smartphone purchases until 2020 in expectation of price reductions [to] begin buying again." It’s projecting 2020 sales of 5G smartphones will be 12 percent of the market at 221 million units.