Smartphone Market Continues to Decline

According to a new forecast from market research firm IDC, the already sluggish forecast for smartphones looks to be headed toward a slightly steeper decline this year.

Global smartphone shipments will decline 3.2% in 2023, the firm said — almost triple the decline that had been forecast for the market in February (1.1% decline). Overall unit shipments are expected to hit 1.17 billion for the year.

IDC said causes include weak consumer demand, inflation, and a weaker economic outlook.

"Our conversations with channels, supply chain partners, and major OEMs all point to recovery being pushed further out and a weaker second half of the year," said Nabila Popal research director with IDC's Mobility and Consumer Device Trackers, in a prepared statement. "Consumer demand is recovering much slower than expected in all regions, including China. If 2022 was a year of excess inventory, 2023 is a year of caution. While everyone wants to have inventory ready to ride the wave of the inevitable recovery, no one wants to be stuck holding it too long. This also means the brands that take the risk — at the right time — can potentially reap great rewards of share gain."

IDC said it still expects the smartphone market to see a recovery in 2024, with 6% year-over-year growth anticipated.

For more information, visit IDC's Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker.

About the Author

David Nagel is the former editorial director of 1105 Media's Education Group and editor-in-chief of THE Journal, STEAM Universe, and Spaces4Learning. A 30-year publishing veteran, Nagel has led or contributed to dozens of technology, art, marketing, media, and business publications.

He can be reached at [email protected]. You can also connect with him on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidrnagel/ .


Featured

  • glowing crystal ball with a simplified university building inside, surrounded by seamlessly blended holographic symbols of binary code, a bar graph, database icons, and a cloud, against a gradient blue and white background with softly merging circuit patterns

    3 Areas Where AI Will Impact Higher Ed Most in 2025

    What should colleges and universities expect from the evolving landscape of artificial intelligence in the coming year? Here's what the experts told us.

  • Two figures, one male and one female, stand beside a transparent digital interface displaying AI symbols like neural networks, code, and a shield, against a clean blue gradient background.

    Report Makes Business Case for Responsible AI

    A new report commissioned by Microsoft and published last month by research firm IDC notes that 91% of organizations use AI tech and expect more than a 24% improvement in customer experience, business resilience, sustainability, and operational efficiency due to AI in 2024.

  • stylized illustration of a portfolio divided into sections for career training

    St. Cloud State University Adds Four Tech Bootcamps via Upright Partnership

    To meet the growing demand for tech professionals in the state, Minnesota's St. Cloud State University is partnering with Upright to launch four career-focused bootcamps that will provide in-demand skills in software development, UX/UI design, data analytics, and digital marketing.

  • group of college students looking at large screen of data visualizations

    Scalable Cloud Strategies: Values for Higher Education

    From a massive, 23-campus cloud-and-security transformation, to a small college's "lift and shift" entry into the public cloud, Unisys Higher Education Strategist Christopher Wessells knows how higher education leverages the cloud. Here, he examines some of the values scalable cloud strategies offer our institutions.