Worldwide smartphone shipments set to cross 1 billion this year as Android continues to dominate: IDC

While PCs are on a clear decline, the smartphone universe is growing by leaps and bounds. According to the latest International Data Corporation (IDC) report, the global smartphone market is expected to grow by 7.3 percent this year with shipments expected to surpass 1 billion units.

This increase in forecast is due to the first half of this year, where sales were strong. This was largely due to emerging markets like India and China where sub-$200 smartphones are doing impressively well. In India, more than 67 percent of smartphones are priced below $200. If the current trend continues, IDC expects global shipments of smartphones to cross 2.3 billion in the next four years.

“Two years ago, the worldwide smartphone market flirted with shipping half a billion units for the first time – to double that in just two years highlights the ubiquity that smartphones have achieved,” said IDC’s Ramon Llamas. “The smartphone has gone from being a cutting-edge communications tool to becoming an essential component in the everyday lives of billions of consumers.”

Talking of smartphone OS, Android continues to dominate the smartphone universe with a 75 percent market share, while Apple’s iOS comes in second with a 16.9 percent share. Following the above two are Microsoft’s Windows Phone OS (3.9 percent) and BlackBerry OS (2.7 percent). According to IDC, in the next four years Android is likely to lose a bit of ground as competition increases from its rivals. By 2017, Android’s market share is likely to come down to 68.3 percent, while iOS will see a 1 percent gain. The biggest gainer though looks to be Windows Phone OS which is likely to gain nearly 7 percent of the market and control 10.2 percent of the market.