Worldwide smartphone growth is expected to slow further to 11.3 percent in 2015, down from 27.6 percent in 2014, according to the latest data from the International Data Corporation (IDC). Although the researcher is sticking to its forecast of 1.9 billion annual shipments by 2019, the previous forecast of 11.8 percent growth in 2015 has been revised down slightly due in part to saturation in the Chinese smartphone market. In fact, 2015 will be the first year that China’s smartphone growth (just 2.5 percent) will be slower than the worldwide market. Android smartphone growth is also expected to be slower than the worldwide market at 8.5 percent in 2015 due to the fact that China accounts for around 36 percent of total Android smartphone shipments.
IDC’s report points out that Apple faced a similar situation in 2012-2014, when its year-on-year growth rates were slightly below the worldwide market. But its recent shift in product line to bigger screen models with a broader country reach has had an immediate impact on volumes and IDC now expects iOS smartphones to grow 23.0 percent in 2015 and remain above worldwide market growth rates throughout the forecast.
