By Pascal Oparada
Social Media/Tech Reporter
Smartphone sale is expected to hit an all-time low of 2.9 per cent this year, a report by Gartner, a technology research and an advisory company said.
According to the report, Japan, Western Europe and North America will witness the largest decline.
The report says North and Sub-Saharan Africa and emerging Asian markets will maintain a serious growth trajectory.
“In mature markets, the high-end smartphone market is particularly oversupplied and commoditized, with higher average selling prices (ASPs) and no compelling new utility or experiences for users to upgrade to. Despite ASP increases on high-end smartphones slowing down recently, the vendors who primarily rely on replacement smartphone sales continue to face tough times,” said Roberta Cozza, senior research director at Gartner.
TechCrunch reports that the Huawei ban will exacerbate the decline, although the company said it has recorded growth in its home country, China since the blacklisting by U.S.-based tech companies.
The rollout of 5G by some smartphone makers is expected to spur some growth in the sector, but not enough to maintain growth for the rest of the year.