IDC Analyses Smartphone Market: “The Worst Is Over”.
It downgrades its forecast for a drop in shipments in 2023 and forecasts 3.8% growth in 2024.
The smartphone market will end 2023 on a high note. IDC forecasts 7.3% growth in shipments for the fourth quarter.
But that won’t be enough to make the annual tally higher than in 2022. For the whole of 2023, a 3.5 % drop in this market is expected, which would imply a total of 1160 million units shipped.
This is, however, better than previously expected, with analysts forecasting a decline of 4.7%.
The recovery will continue in 2024, when IDC expects a 3.8 % improvement.
“We can safely say that the worst is over,” says Nabila Popal, research director at IDC.
“While the rate of recovery varies by region, the change in sentiment is most evident in China,” she notes, benefiting from “the resurgence of Huawei, which in turn is expected to have a positive impact on the overall Android market in the long term.
“As we move into the new era of low single-digit growth and long upgrade cycles, it is clear that the market is maturing,” observes Popal.
“The upside is that average selling prices and market value will remain significantly higher than before,” he adds.
