Gartner today published its annual global shipments report and 2020 is predicted to be an exciting year for hardware manufacturers. Analysts at Gartner have predicted that 5G mobile phones market share will grow rapidly, from 12% in 2020 to 43% in 2022.
Upcoming 5G technology will benefit hardware manufacturers of PCs, Mobile handsets, watches, and other computing devices leading to worldwide shipment of 2.16 billion new units, an increase of 0.9% from 2019. In 2019, global shipments of devices totaled 2.15 billion units, its lowest since 2010.
Further, Gartner says that worldwide smartphone shipments will see a bump of 1.7% this year, up to 1.78 billion before declining again in 2021 to 1.76 billion. This growth will be led by emerging markets in Asia.
PC shipments, unlike handsets, went for some growth in 2019. However it is predicted to see a downfall this year, to 251 million units and declining further to 247 million in 2021 and 242 million in 2022.
Gartner predicts that from 2020 onwards, there will be an increase in 5G phone adoption as prices decrease, 5G service coverage increases and 5G smartphones eventually start trending. The predictions will be a sign of relief for hardware makers who are currently facing a market slowdown. There is a general slowdown in renewal cycles and high saturation of device ownership for mobile handsets. On the other hand, improving smartphone technology is hampering the sales of bigger machines like PCs.
Last year’s market decline was already predicted by Gartner but it had to revise its 2019 numbers at least three times. They initially predicted flat shipments but then ended up forecasting a nearly four percent decline.
Ranjit Atwal, research senior director at Gartner stated “2020 will witness a slight market recovery. Increased availability of 5G handsets will boost mobile phone replacements, which will lead global device shipments to return to growth in 2020.”
Atwal also predicted the further growth of smartphone market by stating, “The market will experience a further increase in 2023 when 5G handsets will account for over 50% of the mobile phones shipped”. This can also be interpreted as a result of handset makers manufacturing 5G ready devices.
Counterpoint has noted that Samsung has maintained its position as world’s biggest handset maker going into Q4 2019. Its shipments account for 21% of the total smartphones. However, BBK electronics is likely to pass it in coming years to become world’s largest handset maker.
