Smartphone Sales in Decline, but 5G-Powered Rebound Expected for 2020

closeup of person texting on mobile phone

In 2019, smartphone sales worldwide will dip 2.5 percent over last year, according to a forecast from research firm Gartner, with the largest declines expected in Japan (-6.5 percent), Western Europe (-5.3 percent) and North America (-4.4 percent).

One reason behind the decline, Gartner suggested, is that new smartphones aren't inspiring people to upgrade. "In mature markets, the high-end smartphone market is particularly oversupplied and commoditized, with higher average selling prices and no compelling new utility or experiences for users to upgrade to," said Roberta Cozza, senior research director at Gartner, in a statement.

"Lengthening smartphone replacement cycles and a ban on Huawei accessing technology from U.S.-based suppliers weakened demand for smartphones in the first half of 2019," added Annette Zimmermann, research vice president at Gartner. "We expect demand to get even weaker in the second half as replacement of high-, low- and mid-end smartphones continues to slow, due to low value benefits."

But in 2020, as 5G models and service packages become more broadly available, smartphone sales are projected to grow again. "Analysts also expect the first 5G Apple iPhone to launch in 2020, which should entice iPhone users to upgrade," Gartner noted.

The full report, "Forecast: Mobile Phones, Worldwide, 2017-2023, 2Q19 Update," is available to Gartner clients here.

About the Author

Rhea Kelly is editor in chief for Campus Technology, THE Journal, and Spaces4Learning. She can be reached at [email protected].

Featured

  • person signing a bill at a desk with a faint glow around the document. A tablet and laptop are subtly visible in the background, with soft colors and minimal digital elements

    California Governor Signs AI Content Safeguards into Law

    California Governor Gavin Newsom has officially signed off on a series of landmark artificial intelligence bills, signaling the state’s latest efforts to regulate the burgeoning technology, particularly in response to the misuse of sexually explicit deepfakes. The legislation is aimed at mitigating the risks posed by AI-generated content, as concerns grow over the technology's potential to manipulate images, videos, and voices in ways that could cause significant harm.

  • close-up illustration of a hand signing a legislative document

    California Passes AI Safety Legislation, Awaits Governor's Signature

    California lawmakers have overwhelmingly approved a bill that would impose new restrictions on AI technologies, potentially setting a national precedent for regulating the rapidly evolving field. The legislation, known as S.B. 1047, now heads to Governor Gavin Newsom's desk. He has until the end of September to decide whether to sign it into law.

  • illustration of a VPN network with interconnected nodes and lines forming a minimalist network structure

    Report: Increasing Number of Vulnerabilities in OpenVPN

    OpenVPN, a popular open source virtual private network (VPN) system integrated into millions of routers, firmware, PCs, mobile devices and other smart devices, is leaving users open to a growing list of threats, according to a new report from Microsoft.

  • interconnected cubes and circles arranged in a grid-like structure

    Hugging Face Gradio 5 Offers AI-Powered App Creation and Enhanced Security

    Hugging Face has released version 5 of its Gradio open source platform for building machine learning (ML) applications. The update introduces a suite of features focused on expanding access to AI, including a novel AI-powered app creation tool, enhanced web development capabilities, and bolstered security measures.