The smartphone market is spiraling toward its third straight year of declining shipments, reported IDC Wednesday. It's forecasting a 0.8 percent worldwide volume decline to 1.39 billion handsets, blaming longer replacement cycles, challenges in China and geopolitical headwinds. Second-half shipments are expected to reverse course, growing 2.3 percent from 2018 on a “new high for technological innovation” from foldable and 5G phones, said analyst Ryan Reith. The nascent 5G era is expected to “ramp quickly,” he said, and though uses for upgrading to a 5G device aren’t yet compelling, adoption is expected to reach “significant numbers” beginning next year. IDC expects 5G smartphone shipments to account for roughly one out of every four smartphones shipped globally in 2023 out of a total 1.54 billion. In 2019, 3G smartphone shipments will fall 25.4 percent to 57.5 million, while 4G phones inch ahead 0.2 percent to 1.3 billion with 95 percent market share, said IDC. Some 6.7 million 5G phones are forecast to ship this year, headed to 401.3 million in 2023 when 5G phones are forecast to grab 26 percent share vs. 72 percent for 4G models.

CTIA sought tweaks to the FCC draft Further NPRM that proposes carriers be required to identify a vertical location accuracy metric, also known as the z-axis, of plus or minus 3 meters for 80 percent of indoor wireless calls to 911. It's set for a vote by commissioners next week (see 1902220062). CTIA and Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile and Sprint met Public Safety Bureau Deputy Chief David Furth and bureau staff, said a filing Wednesday in docket 07-114. “Further technology development and testing remains necessary to validate the accuracy of vertical location technology solutions to meet the FCC’s proposed metric … across regions, weather conditions and devices.” The association asked to modify a sentence in the draft requiring compliance with the standards, adding the words “as demonstrated in the test bed.” CTIA asked to seek comment “on ways to ensure that the rules maintain flexibility and technological neutrality so that … providers can adopt any solutions that meet the proposed metric and corresponding Commission rules.” The group noted another round of vertical-accuracy testing is underway in the industry’s location technologies test bed (see 1902260064). “Given the ongoing evolution of vertical location solutions, the participants urged the Commission to encourage all z-axis technology solutions vendors to participate in Stage Za,” the filing said.

The Wireless Bureau sought comment on Verizon's asking the FCC for clarity, or waiver, of handset unlocking rules imposed as a result of the rules for the 700 MHz C-block it bought in a 2008 auction. Verizon's petition last month seeks “temporary, 60-day lock on the 4G LTE handsets it provides, to ensure that the handsets are purchased by bona fide customers,” the bureau said Tuesday. “With respect to whether its temporary locking proposal is consistent with the handset locking rule, Verizon asserts that the rule is ambiguous and that clarification is needed.” Comments are due April 4, replies April 19, in docket 06-150. “Every other large U.S. wireless carrier has continued to lock 4G LTE handsets at the time of purchase, at least in part to help prevent this type of fraud and identity theft,” Verizon said. “Neither Sprint, T-Mobile, nor AT&T provides 4G LTE handsets unlocked at the time of purchase as Verizon does.” The C block offered large spectrum blocks but came with special rules.

Broadcom released what it says is a more affordable Wi-Fi chip for smartphones. The BCM43752 “extends the benefits of Wi-Fi 6 to the broader smartphone market where high performance and total solution cost are equally important design considerations,” Broadcom said Monday. The chip “brings together the latest innovations in Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5 innovations.”

Royole, which launched the foldable phone market last fall, looked to get a bit of the spotlight Thursday following Samsung’s splashy Fold announcement. Royole said it will demonstrate for the first time at Mobile World Congress next week its “fully flexible displays” including it wearable FlexPai smartphone integrated in a top hat and shirt. It will also show the RoWrite smart writing pad. Royole sensors have a bending radius of 1-3 mm and are operational after 200,000 bends, the company said. Samsung said Wednesday its device will fold at least 200,000 times.

Global smartphone sell-through to end users “stalled” in Q4, rising just 0.1 percent to 408.4 million units, reported Gartner Thursday. Apple recorded its worst quarterly decline since Q1 2016, it said. IPhone sales fell 11.8 percent to 64.5 million units, it said. Apple saw iPhone demand weaken in most regions, except North America; the biggest decline was in China, where iPhone’s market share dropped to 8.8 percent in Q4 from 14.6 percent in year-earlier quarter, it said. The weak iPhone demand prompted Apple CEO Tim Cook to issue his rare earnings warning early January, sending shares plummeting to a 52-week low (see 1901030036).

Google Pixel in Q4 was the fastest-growing “major” smartphone brand in the U.S., outpacing its top-10 rivals, including the iPhone, Samsung and Lenovo’s Motorola, blogged Strategy Analytics Tuesday. Overall U.S. smartphone unit shipments declined 23 percent in the quarter from “a lack of wow designs,” but Pixel shipments “bucked the downtrend” and increased 43 percent, it said. The Pixel 3 “is starting to resonate” with American consumers “searching for something new,” such as eSIM connectivity or artificial intelligence, said SA: Questions abound how Google might exploit this year’s impending Pixel 4 introduction to tap into momentum.

Pennsylvania sued Verizon for allegedly not delivering promised incentives to subscribers who agreed to two-year contracts, Attorney General Josh Shapiro (D) said Monday. The complaint in the Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas alleges violations of the Pennsylvania Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Law because the carrier promised Amazon Echo devices and other incentives but didn’t deliver them. The suit surprised the carrier, which has "been engaged in a productive dialogue" with the AG office, a Verizon spokesperson said. "We had a few technical issues with this promotion, but we have worked hard to address all the issues we know about. Lawsuit or no lawsuit, we will do right by our customers."

Apple released a software fix Thursday for the Group FaceTime glitch (see 1901290037). In the iOS 12.1.4 update, Apple described the flaw's impact, saying the initiator of a Group FaceTime call “may be able to cause the recipient to answer.” In the patch, it said: “A logic issue existed in the handling of Group FaceTime calls. The issue was addressed with improved state management.” The update is available for iPhone 5s and later smartphones, iPad Air and later tablets and the sixth-generation iPod touch. Apple credited Grant Thompson, the 14-year-old Texas student, whose mother, Michele, repeatedly pinged Apple about the flaw. The teenager could be eligible for Apple’s bug bounty program for bringing the hack to light, said reports.

FCC Chairman Ajit Pai called for further action on wireless emergency alerts Wednesday, especially from carriers, the 3rd Generation Partnership Project and Alliance for Telecommunications Industry Solutions. Pai noted a 3GPP working group last month approved technical specifications set for a vote during 3GPP’s quarterly plenary meeting in March. Also in March, ATIS is expected to wrap up standards for improved geo-targeting, he said. “Recognizing that there is still more work to be done, I urge all principals … to remain vigilant in their work to ensure that the benefits of enhanced wireless emergency alerts are made available by November,” Pai said. “The American people want, expect, and deserve the best possible public safety services -- including the most precise targeting available for wireless alerts.” Commissioners a year ago approved an order 5-0 imposing a Nov. 30 deadline for carriers to more accurately “geo-target” wireless emergency alerts (see 1801300027). The order requires participating carriers to deliver WEAs to the target area specified by the alert originator with no more than a one-tenth of a mile overshoot. “I agree with my colleague,” Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel told us. “The American people deserve the best possible public safety services and it’s important that the FCC do everything within its power to make this a reality. We may not know where or when the next disaster will strike, but we can be prepared with tools to respond quickly and effectively.” The wireless industry shares Pai’s goal of enhancing the WEA system’s “proven lifesaving capabilities through more granular geographic targeting,” said Matt Gerst, CTIA vice president-regulatory affairs: “CTIA’s member companies will continue to work diligently and collaboratively to meet this goal as expeditiously as possible.”