According to the International Data Corporation (IDC) ‘Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker’, smartphone shipments are expected to reach 1.20 billion units in 2024. This represents a growth of 2.8 percent on a year-on-year (Y-o-Y) basis, followed by growth in the low single digits through 2028. While overall volumes are still less than pre-pandemic levels, it is believed that the market has corrected itself and is rising from the bottom.
Commenting on the report, Ryan Reith, vice president, IDC, said, “It has been a challenging run for the smartphone market, even when looking at the years leading into the pandemic. While the world continues to face a challenging macroeconomic environment, several device categories that compete for a share of wallet are seeing a return to growth, including personal computers. IDC firmly believes the smartphone will remain the quintessential device for most, but ongoing price increases and the improved durability of today’s smartphones supports an already lengthened replacement cycle, which will dampen new shipment growth.”
In addition, the report also states that recent technological developments have brought new energy to the smartphone space while rising demands in emerging markets and cycles of device replacement still undoubtedly being the important factors in the overall market recovery.
Furthermore, shipments of foldable smartphones are predicted to reach 25 million in 2024, with an anticipated Y-o-Y growth of 37 per cent. Moreover, artificial intelligence (AI) has become the part of smartphone discussion, igniting interest in next-gen AI experiences on a handheld device.
Besides, Nabila Popal, research director, IDC’s mobility and consumer device trackers, said, “Although total smartphone shipments remain below pre-pandemic levels, the good news is that consumers are willing to pay more for their phones. This will be further fueled by innovations in foldables and the idea of next-gen AI on a device. IDC forecasts 170 million next-gen AI smartphones will ship in 2024, representing almost 15 per cent of the total smartphone market and surpassing even AI PCs. Next-gen AI smartphones will grow rapidly beyond 2024 as use cases evolve and industry players continue to push forward the neural processing unit (NPU) technology. While AI will impact all devices, smartphones will be the device driving the AI revolution into every home.”
