Sales drop in 2022
What does not seem reversible is that this 2022 is going to be one of the worst years in the history of smartphone sales. And it is that analysts are still very skeptical when assessing what is to come in this market. Now IDC has once again published even lower forecasts for the remainder of the year. In fact, according to its analysts, this year 2022 would close with a fall of 6.5% with respect to fiscal year 2021.
Smartphone shipments will total 1,270 million in 2022, which represents a new cut compared to previous estimates, which put the units sold at 1,310 million for this same year. IDC even contemplated an increase in smartphone sales in 2022 of 1.6% compared to 2021, but finally we will stay at a negative 6.5%. Undoubtedly a trend similar to the GDP forecasts of many countries, which have gone from positive estimates at the beginning of the year and are going to end it in negative.
Recovery in 2023
But the headline of this news is undoubtedly the great news that this IDC analysis leaves us. Since the firm forecasts that next year the smartphone market will grow by 5.2%. In addition, he is also optimistic about what is to come in the next five years, with an average annual growth of 1.4%. It makes sense for the market to grow in 2023, assuming that 2022 is going to end negatively.
Regarding the 5G devices, IDC also has excellent forecasts. In fact they hope that sending these grow 23.6% in 2022, despite the negative result expected for this year in general. 5G devices will account for 54% of smartphone shipments in 2022, according to the analytics firm. They also expect that by 2026, 5G smartphones will account for 79% of sales worldwide, something that will gradually come hand in hand with the same growth in 5G coverage.
In respect of ManzanaIDC has also published its estimates for this 2022. They expect their shipments grow 0.5%, something that might not seem like much, but that is positive in a context of clear contraction of the market for this exercise. In fact, IDC expects mobile shipments Android see a 8% drop in shipments this same year, for to grow again by 6.2% throughout 2023. In this long-awaited recovery that we hope will not have to be revised downwards as has already happened this year.