Suggesting the increasing commoditization of smartphones, U.S. consumers -- and those in other mature markets -- were not quite compelled to upgrade their devices over the holidays.
As such, smartphone makers shipped fewer phones during the fourth quarter of 2017 compared to the same period in 2016, according to new data from International Data Corporation.
Year-over-year, phone shipments slipped by 6.3% from 430.7 million to 403.5 million, IDC found.
Anthony Scarsella, research manager at IDC, attributes the decline to phone maker’s inability to generate consumer excitement over their latest gadgets.
“The latest flock of posh flagships may have had consumers hitting the pause button in the holiday quarter,” Scarsella suggests in a new report. “With ultra-high-end flagships all the rage in 2017, many of these new bezel-less wonders proved to be more of a luxury than a necessity among upgraders.”
For 2017, the decline in phone shipments was less pronounced. The worldwide smartphone market saw a total of 1.472 billion units shipped in 2017, which was down less than 1% from the 1.473 billion units shipped in 2016.
Apple experienced a slight downturn from the previous holiday quarter as iPhone volumes reached 77.3 million units -- a year-over-year decline of 1.3%.
Sales were still strong enough to push Apple past Samsung and back into first place in the smartphone market, during the quarter, which was thanks in large part to the iPhone 8, 8 Plus and iPhone X.
By Scarsella's reckoning, Apple continues to prove that offering consumers numerous device models at various price points bodes well for bringing smartphone owners to iOS.
While demand for the new higher priced iPhone X may not have been as robust as expected, the overall iPhone lineup appealed to a wider range of consumers in both emerging and developed markets, IDC determined.
Apple finished second for the full year in 2017 shipping 215.8 million units, which represented an increase of 0.2% from the 215.4 million units shipped in 2016.
Samsung, meanwhile, remained the overall leader in the worldwide smartphone market throughout 2017 despite losing out to Apple in the final quarter of the year.
The South Korean tech company shipped 74.1 million units in the fourth quarter -- down 4.4% compared to the 77.5 million units from the final quarter of 2016.
Samsung end the year with 317.3 million total phone shipments -- up 1.9% from the 311.4 million shipments in 2016.
The pending arrival of Samsung's next flagship, the Galaxy S9, may represent its best chance of winning over both new and current customers in 2018, IDC suggests.
