Smartphone market is forecast to drop 11.9 percent in 2020 to 1.2 billion units, according to the latest IDC research report.
The forecast follows the largest year-over-year decline in history of smartphone market in the first quarter of 2020. Smartphone shipments are expected to decline 18.2 percent in the first half of the year due to supply-side crisis and global demand-side problem.

Global smartphone shipments are not expected to return to growth until the first quarter of 2021.

Lockdowns and rising unemployment have reduced consumer confidence and reprioritized spending towards essential goods, directly impacting the uptake of smartphones in the short term, said Sangeetika Srivastava, senior research analyst with IDC’s Worldwide Mobile Device Trackers.

5G smartphone business will play a vital role in worldwide smartphone market recovery in 2021.