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Smartphones Shipment Volumes Decline by 0.5% in 2017, but Growth Expected to Return in 2018 – IDC

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International Data Corporation (IDC) Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker report, shows that, worldwide Smartphone shipments declined by 0.5% in 2017, the first year-over-year decline the market has experienced since the introduction of what we now know as smartphones.

Smartphone companies shipped a total of 1.46 billion devices in 2017 with nearly all of that volume running either the Android or iOS platforms.

Looking forward, IDC expects shipment volumes to return to low single-digit growth in 2018 and the overall market to experience a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 2.8% over the 2017-2022 forecast period with volumes forecast to reach 1.68 billion units in 2022.

Ryan Reith, program vice president with IDC’s Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Device Trackers, said “2017 turned out to be the year we all knew would eventually come – when smartphone volumes finally experienced a contraction.”

“That fact that China alone declined almost 5% in 2017 was a huge factor for why global volumes fell, but EMEA also declined 3.5%, and the U.S. market was flat.

“In our opinion, areas for growth have not changed. Developing markets still have plenty of room for build out, led by first-time buyers.

“And the premium space will continue to represent roughly 20% of the market. However, competition will continue to tighten and consolidation is inevitable.”

Design innovation continues to be a focal point of the industry, yet technology advances are becoming less about tangible hardware aesthetics and more about components and software.

This shift makes differentiation a challenge, especially as the entire industry is sprinting towards bigger screens and smaller bezels.

IDC expects 2018 to be the year when phablets outship regular smartphones, essentially ending the race for bigger screens.

Big differences in quality and display type still exist, but the average consumer will continue to struggle to understand these differences.

So, what’s next? 5G momentum is in full swing and device OEMs, component suppliers, telcos, and services companies are all looking to capitalize.

IDC expects commercial 5G smartphones to hit the market in 2019, ramping up to account for roughly 18% of worldwide shipments by 2022.

Anthony Scarsella, research manager with IDC’s Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker, said“ To keep up with the increasing demand for the new AI, AR/VR, contextually aware, and 5G functionalities headed to the market, we expect growth to come from improvements in overall core functions in the near term,”

“Improvements in speed, power, battery life, and general performance will be critical in driving growth at a worldwide level as the smartphone evolves into a true all-in-one tool.

“Although these types of improvements seem to arrive each year, delivering it more affordably will carry even greater significance to consumers as many highly competitive emerging markets remain crucial in driving growth throughout the forecast period.”

Platform Highlights shows that android Volumes were essentially flat in 2017, with OEMs shipping a total of 1.24 billion handsets running Google’s OS.

After years of vendors customizing Android’s OS to put their UI spin on things, we are finally hitting a point where everyone is pivoting back to stock Android.

This is an initiative that Google has been pushing for quite some time as the standardization on software can bring faster updates, minimize consumer confusion, and potentially allow Google to gain back some control of the platform.

The biggest change for Android devices in 2017 was that average selling prices (ASPs) grew for the first time since 2010.

This is largely due to the low-end players migrating their portfolios upstream toward mid-tier pricing.

Consumers have gone along with this trend, although many low-end buyers have grown increasingly frustrated with the poor battery and performance issues experienced on the device after just months of use.

iOS: Coming off of the first year-over-year decline in iPhone shipments in 2016, Apple returned to growth in 2017 albeit only 0.2%.

Apple shipped 215.8 million iPhones in 2017 with 64% of those coming from ‘Plus’-size iPhones (including the X).

The shift to bigger, more expensive devices has allowed Apple to continue to grow its ASPs while simlutaneously facing the challenges of growing its shipment volumes.

IDC expects iPhone shipments to grow 3.7% to 223.8 million units in 2018 and reaching 242.4 million in 2022.

Overall iPhone volumes are expected to grow at a five-year CAGR of 2.4%. Apple will continue to experience challenges breaking into some of the remaining high-growth developing markets, but there is no question they are far from being pushed out of the premium market segment.

Apple continues to build out its device upgrade program, a move IDC believes could be a catalyst to support growth over the next five years.


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Ugo Onwuaso is an ICT enthusiast. He believes technology should be used for general good. He holds a Master of Public Administration (MPA) degree from the Lagos state University. Dear Reader, Your support matters. But we believe that technology makes life more exciting and helps improve the lives of people around Nigeria and indeed the world. That is why, we have devoted our energy to independent reportage of technology and finance and how they affect lives. Our incisive and analytical view of how technology news affects the daily life help individuals and organizations make up their minds. Quality journalism costs money. Today, we're asking that you support us to do more. Kindly support our effort to deliver technology and finance journalism to everyone in the world. Donate as little as N1,000. Bank transfers can be made to: UBA Plc 1017156876 Communication Week Media Ltd

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Telcos Plan Zero Tariff in Some Regions with Low Opex

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Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (ALTON) is planning to encourage geo-political regions that grants zero charges for ‘Right of Way’ approvals as well not implementing arbitrary charges on telecommunications base stations in their regions with zero tariff.

Engr. Gbenga Adebayo, chairman, ALTON disclosed this to Nigeria CommunincationsWeek against the backdrop of incessant closure of base stations in some states.

He said that operators believe that the way out of this arbitrary charges and high cost of RoW approvals is regional tariffs.

“Operators are advocating for a regional tariff which means that geographical regions of Nigeria where cost of doing business for telecommunications operators is extremely high will attract high tariff compared to regions where there is low operating cost.

“Our advocacy of regional tariff is not based on a particular state but on regions. As at today there are regions where we have zero cost of “Right of Way” and low cost of doing business. Tariffs should reflect on operating environment. This means that national rate plan should consider high and low cost of doing business.

“If this is implemented, in a long run we could witness some regions having zero tariff because operational cost in such regions are friendly to operators,” he said.

It would be recalled that Kogi State recently shut down some operators’ base stations on account of local levies which raises the call for discriminatory tariff among geographical locations.

 


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FCCPC Warns Meta: Quitting Nigeria Won’t Erase Legal Liabilities

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Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) has hit back at Meta Platforms Inc, warning the tech giant that its threat to exit Nigeria will not erase its legal responsibilities or liabilities under the Nigerian law.

Meta said earlier today, May 3, that it “may be forced to effectively shut down the Facebook and Instagram services in Nigeria in order to mitigate the risk of enforcement measures.”

Meta’s warning came after it lost a legal bid last week to overturn a ₦220 million fine imposed by the FCCPC for violations of data protection and consumer rights laws.

Reacting to Meta’s threat, FCCPC, in a statement on Saturday, May 3, described Meta’s statement as “a calculated” move aimed at “inducing negative public reaction and potentially pressuring the FCCPC to reconsider its decision.”

FCCPC said that Meta threatening to leave Nigeria does not absolve the company of liabilities for the outcome of a judicial process.

“These infringements included denying Nigerians the right to control their personal data, transferring and sharing Nigerian user data without authorisation, discriminating against Nigerian users compared to users in other jurisdictions and abusing their dominant market position by forcing unfair privacy policies,” FCCPC wrote on X.

“Interestingly, Meta had been fined for similar breaches in Texas ($1.5b) and only recently was asked to pay $1.3 Billion for violating E.U. Data Privacy Rules.

Elsewhere in India, South Korea, France and Australia, Meta had faced varying penalties for similar breaches. But Meta never resorted to the blackmail of threatening to exit those countries. They obeyed.”

 


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Fines: Meta Threatens to Shut Down Facebook, Instagram in Nigeria

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Meta may shut down its Facebook and Instagram services in Nigeria in protest against the substantial fines imposed by multiple government agencies.

Fines: Meta Threatens to Shut Down Facebook, Instagram in Nigeria

The tech giant has been ordered to pay nearly $300 million in fines in Africa’s most populous nation, following regulatory demands which Meta described as “unrealistic.”

In July 2024, the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC), imposed a $220 million fine on Meta for allegedly discriminatory and exploitative practices against Nigerian consumers.

The commission stated that Meta had failed to engage a Data Protection Compliance Organisation and had not submitted a Nigeria Data Protection Regulation audit report for two consecutive years.

Similarly, the Advertising Regulatory Council of Nigeria (ARCON), demanded $37.5 million over unapproved advertising, while the Nigerian Data Protection Commission (NDPC), announced a $32.8 million fine for an alleged data privacy breach.

Meta challenged the decisions at the Federal High Court in Abuja but was unsuccessful, as the court upheld the fines in a ruling delivered last week.

The court directed the company to comply with payment by the end of June, but Meta has indicated it may not do so, according to the BBC.

“The applicant may be forced to effectively shut down the Facebook and Instagram services in Nigeria in order to mitigate the risk of enforcement measures,” the company stated in court documents.

Responding to the NDPC’s assertion that Meta’s data processing could expose Nigerian users to health and financial risks, the company said the agency had failed to “properly interpret the laws guiding data privacy.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


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