Smartphone market to pick up in H2, India likely to witness growth of over 14%: IDC

With average selling prices (ASPs) are growing at a double-digit pace, Android mobile phones grab around 85 per cent of the global market this year.

The volume of Android phones will grow at 2.4 per cent CAGR, in compare to Apple 2.1 per cent in 2018, said an IDC's report titled 'Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker 2018'.

Android ASPs will grow 11.4 per cent in 2018 to $262, up from $235 in 2017. IDC expects this upward trajectory to continue through the forecast, but at a more tempered low single-digit rate from 2019 and beyond, it added.

Whereas Apple is expected to grow by 2.1 per cent in 2018 and reaching volumes of 238.5 million by 2022. According to Melissa Chau, associate research director with IDC's report, Apple will not be left behind in the 2018 race.

Global smartphone shipments will decline 0.7 per cent in 2018 to 1.455 billion units, down from 1.465 billion in 2017.

However, the market will return to positive growth in the second half of 2018 with volumes up 1.1 per cent compared to the second half of 2017. In the long-term forecast, IDC expects the overall smartphone market to reach 1.646 billion units shipped in 2022, said IDC.

As per the report Large-screen smartphones (5.5 inch and larger) will lead the charge with volumes of 941.6 million in 2018, accounting for 64.7 per cent of all smartphones, up from 623.2 million units in 2017 and 42.5 per cent share.

In the Asia Pacific region market will be led by India and Indonesia, which are expected to grow shipments in 2018 by 14.4 per cent and 15.4 per cent respectively.