Apple isn’t alone: 2018 was the ‘worst year ever’ for smartphone shipments, IDC says

FAN Editor

2018 was the worst year ever for smartphone shipments, according to the latest figures from research firm IDC. It means Apple isn’t the only company fighting to keep people interested in buying new phones every year.

IDC said 1.4 billion smartphones were sold in 2018, marking a 4.1 percent decline for the year in an industry that’s typically used to rapid growth. 1.4 billion phones were shipped in 2014, which means the industry seems to have regressed about 5 years. Shipments shrank 4.9 percent for the fourth quarter of 2018, IDC said.

Apple said earlier this week that iPhone revenues were 15 percent lower than last year. CEO Tim Cook said the strengthened dollar, an economic slowdown in China, lower subsidies on phones and its battery replacement program contributed to the drop in sales.

Samsung phone shipments declined 5.5 percent and Apple’s slipped 11.5 percent during the quarter, IDC said. But firms Huawei, which was able to capitalize on China, saw a 33.6 percent bump in shipments. Chinese vendors Oppo and Xiaomi also increased shipments, IDC said.

“Globally the smartphone market is a mess right now,” said Ryan Reith, program vice president with IDC’s Worldwide Mobile Device Trackers in the report.

Reith said that consumers are using phones for longer, which means that replacement cycles are lengthening. He also said consumers are frustrated with rising prices. Economic uncertainty and increased penetration in large markets are also slowing shipments, Reith said.

“China, which accounts for roughly 30 percent of the world’s smartphone consumption, had an even worse 2018 than the previous year with volumes down just over 10 percent. High inventory continues to be a challenge across the market as is consumer spending on devices, which has been down overall. At the same time the top 4 brands, all of which are Chinese – Huawei, OPPO, vivo, and Xiaomi – grew their share of the China market to roughly 78 percent, up from 66 percent in 2017.”

Free America Network Articles

Leave a Reply

Next Post

The CEO of the biggest mall owner in the US says he's nervous about more retail bankruptcies

The biggest mall owner in the U.S. is warning of more store closures and even bankruptcies to rattle the retail industry in 2019. “There are some retailers out there that we’re nervous about,” Simon Property Group CEO David Simon said Friday during a call with analysts after the company reported […]