The number of smartphones shipped will fall to 1.3 billion in 2020. This is a decrease of 2.3% compared to 2019. The explanation lies with the COVID-19 virus.
The decline is predicted by market analyst IDC in his Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker. The research firm expects that the smartphone market will be greatly hindered by the virus in the short term.
For example, it predicts that the number of smartphones shipped will decrease by 10.6% in the first half of 2020. The market is growing again in 2021, driven among other things by the embrace of 5G.
IDC expects the market to take several quarters to recover from the impact of the coronavirus. This includes disrupted production lines and disrupted logistics chains. The impact should decrease by the end of 2020, including through government support.
The virus outbreak is also putting pressure on the demand for smartphones from China. Demand recovers in the second half of 2020.
Many manufacturers usually introduce their new top models in February and March. They also perform the final tests before new products go into products.
Manufacturers are now making changes to their product plans for the first half of 2020 due to the coronavirus. IDC expects this to continue to impact their production plans in the medium and even long term.