Smartphone shipments to grow 39% to pass 1 billion units in 2013: IDC

IDC on Tuesday said the global smartphone shipments will grow 39.3 percent to pass 1 billion units in 2013. ASPs will dip more than 12 percent.

The demand for low-cost computing in emerging markets will drive the smartphone market. IDC did not share country specific smartphone market details.

By 2017, total smartphone shipments are expected to approach 1.7 billion units, resulting in a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 18.4 percent from 2013 to 2017, IDC said.

smartphone ASP trends by IDC

In 2013, IDC expects smartphone ASPs to be $337, down 12.8 percent from $387 in 2012. By 2017, smartphone ASPs will drop to $265.

Smartphone ASP in Asia Pacific will dip to $215 in 2017 from $262 in 2013. On the other hand, in Europe, smartphone ASP will decrease to $259 from $419. The lowest ASP will be in the Asia Pacific region – including Indian and Chinese telecom markets.

From a volume perspective, emerging markets including Asia/Pacific, Latin America, and Middle East and Africa (MEA) will all post market-beating growth rates from 2013 to 2017. Asia/Pacific will also experience some market share growth from 2013 to 2017. Developed markets will see market share erosion, but will see volume increases during the same time period.

Worldwide Smartphone Forecast by Region, Shipments, Market Share and 5-Year CAGR

(units in millions)
Region 2013
Shipment
Volumes*

2013
Market
Share

2017
Shipment
Volumes*

2017
Market
Share
5 Year
CAGR
Asia/Pacific 528.2 52.3% 986.0 58.5% 23.2%
Europe 182.1 18.0% 261.0 15.5% 11.1%
North America 151.0 15.0% 189.0 11.2% 7.8%
Latin America 91.1 9.0% 154.7 9.2% 23.7%
Middle East and Africa 57.6 5.7% 95.0 5.6% 18.5%
Total 1,010.1 100.0% 1,685.8 100.0% 18.4%
Source:  IDC Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker, November 26, 2013

ASPs in these same emerging markets will post single-digit CAGR declines from 2013 to 2017, led by Asia/Pacific. This will enable more users to afford smartphones for the first time, and in many cases, allow users to bypass purchasing feature phones altogether and go straight to smartphones.

Asia Pacific’s smartphone shipments will increase from 528.2 million in 2013 with 52.3 percent share to 986 million in 2017 with 58.5 percent share.

Worldwide Smartphone Average Selling Price (ASP) by Region and 5-Year CAGR

(figures in $USD)
Region

2013 Smartphone
ASP*

2017 Smartphone
ASP*
5 Year CAGR
Asia/Pacific $262 $215 -8.9%
Europe $419 $259 -9.0%
North America $531 $567 2.1%
Latin America $288 $246 -5.7%
Middle East and Africa $338 $230 -7.3%
Total

$337

$265

-7.3%

Source:  IDC Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker, November 26, 2013

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