Smartphone demand hits fresh record for the second quarter of 2017

Globally the value of the market grew by 9 per cent year-on-year, due to the rising average sales price of individual smartphones

Global smartphone demand totalled 347 million units during the three months to June (Getty/iStock)

More smartphones were sold globally during the three months to the end of June than during any other second quarter on record, new figures reveal.

Global smartphone demand totalled 347 million units during the three months, up 4 per cent from the same period a year earlier, particularly helped by robust appetite for new products in emerging parts of Asia as well as Central and Eastern Europe.

Researchers at GfK, who compiled the figures, said that overall the value of the market grew by 9 per cent year-on-year, due to the rising average sales price of individual smartphones.

“The record demand for smartphones in the second quarter of this year shows that, despite saturation in some markets, the desire to own a smartphone is a worldwide phenomenon,” said Arndt Polifke, global director of telecom research at GfK.

“Manufacturers are maximising all their creativity to ensure their latest devices are irresistible,” he added.

He said that macroeconomic factors and consumer confidence are having an impact on the market, “but operators and retailers are employing localised tactics to ensure the smartphone remains the connected device of choice”.

The performance across regions was varied.

In Western Europe, smartphone demand totalled 28.7 million units, a 3 per cent decrease on the same period in 2016 and the third consecutive quarter of decline, which GfK attributed to saturation in countries like Germany, the UK and France.

Central and Eastern Europe and Latin America both recorded firm growth, with demand up by 11 per cent and 10 per cent respectively. The North American market also returned to expansion following falls in demand in recent quarters.

Middle East and Africa eked out 1 per cent of growth, helping total demand hit 42.2 million units, but appetite was hit by “macroeconomic weakness in the region and device saturation in the Middle East”.

In China, smartphone demand plateaued during the second quarters, at 110.1 million units, showing no change over the same period in 2016.

Yotaro Noguchi, product lead in GfK’s trends and forecasting division, said that despite the saturation in some markets, GfK expects overall demand to continue rising in 2018, “as innovation from smartphone vendors keeps replacement cycles from lengthening”.