IDC: Global smartphone shipments will grow by 39% per cent this year

Sina Science and technology news Beijing time of November 27 morning, the market research company IDC released a report in Tuesday estimated that the 2013 global smartphone shipments are expected to exceed 1 billion units, an increase of 39.3%. While the smartphone market in many countries is saturated, demand for cheap smartphones in emerging markets is still driving the market. By 2017, global smartphone shipments are expected to close to 1.7 billion, from 2013-2017 's annual growth rate of 18.4%. According to IDC, the biggest driver of the smartphone market's growth is the average price drop, especially for cheap Android handsets. The company estimates that the average price for smartphones in 2013 was $337, below last year's $387 trillion, and down to $265 by 2017. "The key to the growth in smartphone shipments in the next few years is the expected price drop," said Ramon Llamas, Remont Lamasse, research manager at IDC's mobile team. Especially in emerging markets, where consumers are more sensitive to price, and flexibility is important, smart-phone prices will fall, spreading from urban elites to mass users. All vendors are watching closely, they can reduce the price of mobile phones to what level, while still maintaining profits, and provide a good smartphone experience. IDC expects smartphone sales in emerging markets such as Asia-Pacific, Latin America and the Middle East and Africa to grow significantly by 2017. Meanwhile, the average price of smartphones in these emerging markets will continue to fall, allowing many users to afford smartphones for the first time. (Chu Yue)