Smartphone market will decline again this year but Apple volumes will rise, projects IDC

Market research firm IDC said Wednesday that it expects the global smartphone market to contract again this year. The firm projects a 0.2% decline this year, which follows a 0.3% drop in 2017. IDC sees roughly 3% annual growth after that for the next few years. China was a major reason for the industry's decline last year and IDC projects that the smartphone market there will fall another 7.1% this year before flattening next year. The "biggest upside" in the Asia/Pacific region comes from India, which IDC sees posting 14% growth in 2018 and 16% growth in 2019. Though IDC projects an overall decline in the smartphone market this year, the firm expects that Apple Inc. will see iPhone volumes grow by 2.6%.