IDC expressed optimism about the growth of the smartphone market in the fourth quarter. The market research company pointed out that the growing demand for 5G smartphones was the main driving force. The overall shipments are expected to grow 2.4% year-on-year, reaching to 377.7 million units. This upward trend should continue in 2021, an increase of 4.4% from 2020. Though the planet is ‘infected’, the ‘astonishingly fast recovery of the supply chain’ and ‘significant incentives’ from OEM and 5G terminal channels will make the market grow again.
Ryan Reith, vice president of IDC’s global mobile device tracker program, said that based on the progress made in the third quarter, the ‘supply-side momentum remains strong’ in this quarter and beyond.
He explained that as many consumers shift their spending from travel and leisure activities to consumer electronics, the negative impact of shipments caused by the lockdown related to the new coronavirus epidemic in the first half of this year has turned positive in the second half of the year.
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5G Smartphones Are The Main Driving Force
IDC calls 5G ‘the current driving force of the industry’. By 2020, shipments of compatible terminals are expected to account for nearly 10% of the overall shipments. This proportion should increase to 29% in 2024.
However, the company pointed out the key factor for the future growth of 5G (model) shipments. The terminal costs are close to or the same as 4G smartphones. It expects the average selling price of 5G (model) in 2020 to be US$611. Also, it should drop to US$453 by 2024.
Also Read: 5G Smartphone Shipment In China Hit 108 Million Units In September
In September this year, 5G thousand-yuan phones have appeared in the Chinese market, further lowering the 5G threshold;. According to the statistics of the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology for several consecutive months, 5G smartphones have stably reached 60% of the overall domestic smartphone shipments.