IDC: 1.3B smartphones will ship in 2014 but growth will slow

International Data Corporation’s latest forecast projects gadgets makers will ship 1.3 billion smartphones in 2014, and per usual, Android handsets will dominate, accounting for more than one billion, or 82 percent, of those phones. 1.3 billion devices would represent a 26.3 percent increase over last year’s total shipments, but IDC cautions that the smartphone’s rapid growth is starting to level out.

In 2015, IDC predicts 1.4 billion smartphones will ship in 2015, which is most definitely growth, but only represents an increase if 12.2 percent over 2014. IDC recently found a similar trend in worldwide tablet shipments except much more pronounced. IDC anticipates the smartphone’s deceleration will continue into 2018 with 1.9 billion shipments in that year. At that point, IDC expects the emerging markets will account for a good deal of growth, and prices will drop accordingly. The average smartphone selling price in 2014 is about $241 worldwide, but in emerging markets like India prices are averaging $135.