Global smartphone sales are expected to rebound strongly this year after two years of decline. Still, Apple is lagging behind with its iPhones and will see virtually no growth this year, according to market analyst IDC. The American technology group’s rivals are clearly gaining ground in China and emerging markets with their Android devices.
Apple and rivals such as Samsung, Huawei and Xiaomi are expected to ship 1.24 billion smartphones to retail outlets this year, according to IDC estimates. That’s more than 6 percent more than a year ago. But Apple’s iPhone shipments are only expected to increase by 0.4 percent this year. Despite this limited growth, Apple remains the most profitable firm with an average selling price of more than $1,000 for its iPhones. The average selling price of Android rivals is around $295.
Artificial intelligence
The addition of AI applications to smartphones has generated little additional excitement among consumers this year. “While artificial intelligence is and will continue to be a top priority for many vendors, it has yet to have a significant impact on smartphone demand,” says Nabila Popal, research director at IDC. ‘Further investment will be needed to increase consumer awareness and introduce sophisticated AI functionality, to bring about the big rush everyone is waiting for.’
Despite this year’s recovery, global smartphone shipments have not yet returned to pre-corona pandemic levels. For the coming years, the analyst only expects a ‘low, single-digit’ growth rate. According to IDC, this is mainly due to the lengthening time to launch new models on the market, the saturation of the latter in developed economies, as well as the rapid growth of the second-hand smartphone trade. IDC, however, predicts that Apple will catch up next year.
