IDC sees global smartphone growth slipping to 9.8% this year

After years of double digit annual growth, IDC sees smartphone shipments growing only 9.8% this year. At that rate, 1.43 billion smartphones will be shipped in 2015. One of the reasons for the slowdown, according to the researcher, is the saturation of the market in China. Consumers in the country have already purchased their first smartphone, and are waiting to upgrade to their next handset. As a result, Chinese smartphone shipments will only grow in the low single digits this year, says IDC.

Despite the lower growth forecast for this year, certain handsets enjoyed strong sales in the U.S. during the Black Friday weekend. For example, during the weekend that kicks off the holiday shopping season, stateside sales of the Apple iPhone 6s rose 36% over the sales it tallied over the four previous weekends. During the same time period, sales of the Samsung Galaxy S6 did even better, rising 68% over the Black Friday weekend.

Unit growth in smartphone shipments might actually pick up thanks to the large sales of handsets priced under $100 in developing countries. IDC program director Ryan Reith notes that "the components that comprise a sub-$100 smartphone simply do not have the ability to survive two years." With that in mind, the researcher is looking for 50% growth in smartphone shipments this year in Africa. The Middle East is also expected to see a 50% jump in deliveries.

source: WSJ