The large number of new “flagship” smartphones introduced...
The large number of new “flagship” smartphones introduced by “top brands” in the first half of this year has given consumers “more choices than ever,” contributing to an expected doubling in shipments from 2012 to 2017, IHS said Wednesday. Global…
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smartphone shipments will hit 1.5 billion units in 2017, up from 712 million in 2012, the research company predicted. Shipments this year are “set to rise” to 897 million units, it said. Shipments will expand at a compound annual growth rate of 15.8 percent, reaching 1.1 billion units in 2014, 1.2 billion in 2015 and 1.4 billion in 2016, it projected. Apple’s iPhone “franchise appears to be stalling” because Q1 shipments of 37.4 million were weaker than expectations, IHS said. The next iPhone model isn’t expected until the back half of this year, and “there is a real possibility that the full-year 2013 sales volume of the iPhone may be essentially flat” at about 150 million units, down from 134 million in 2012, it said. “The possible slowing growth” of the iPhone and the “rapid pace of competitive” smartphone releases highlights the “ferocious nature of the handset business, especially now as the market continues to pivot from a market dominated by lower-end handsets known as feature phones to one that is increasingly smartphone-centric,” said Wayne Lam, senior analyst-consumer and communications, in a news release. Samsung continued its strong growth in Q1 with a quarter-over-quarter increase of 9 million units, while brands including Coolpad and Gionee outshipped HTC and Motorola, said IHS.