The global smartphone market will continue growing until at least 2021, driven by more first-time users and consumers replacing their phones around every two years, according to a new forecast from IDC. After the first year of single-digit growth in unit shipments in 2016, the smartphone market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 3.3 percent in the five years through 2021, the market researcher predicts.
Total shipments are forecast to grow from 1.47 billion in 2016 to just over 1.7 billion in 2021. IDC estimates only around half the world was using a smartphone at the end of 2016, leaving plenty of room for further market growth.
The growing number of high-end phablets on the market are also driving sales. IDC expects the average selling price of a smartphone to increase over 7 percent in 2017, thanks to new premium devices like the Samsung Galaxy Note 8, Apple iPhone anniversary edition, new Google Pixel and Essential phone.
Devices with screens 5.5 inches and larger are set to grow over 34 percent in 2017, and the average selling price of these devices is expected to increase 9 percent. Phablets are forecast to make up 40 percent of the smartphone market by the end of 2017 and grow to over 51 percent by 2021.
