Demand for mobile phones is forecasted to continue to fall worldwide following a 10 per cent fall in 2022 to 1.43 billion units.
It is expected that demand will decline by a further two per cent to 1.41 billion units in 2023, according to CCS Insight.
Smartphones faced a fall of eight per cent in 2022, and are expected to only decline by one per cent in 2023 to 1.21 billion units.
James Manning Smith, senior analyst at CCS Insight said: “The global economy will remain in a fragile state in 2023, with the impact of inflation lingering and the slow pace of economic growth continuing to subdue demand for mobile phones.
“Although there are some hot spots of growth in the market, such as India and the developing markets of Asia–Pacific, we expect consumers to forgo replacement purchases in 2023, and in developing markets many people still won’t be able to afford their first mobile phone.”
In 2022, premium smartphones have been performing better than low-budget and mid-range devices, but there may be a slight fall in sales of premium devices in Q4 2022 and Q1 2023.
Shipments of 5G capable phones are expected to rise by 16pc in 2023 to 730 million units as the technology becomes more affordable.
A small global growth in the mobile phone market is predicted in 2024 and beyond- however, sales will remain way below typical levels seen in the last ten years.
