Global smartphone sales to end users will rise 3 percent this year to 1.57 billion, forecast Gartner. There was a 2 percent decrease in 2019, the first decline since 2008, it said Tuesday. Gartner described 2019 as a challenging year for vendors facing an “oversupply in the high-end sector in mature markets,” plus “longer replacement cycles overall.” It’s basing forecasts of a 2020 rebound on the “introduction of 5G network coverage in more countries." The researcher expects users “who may have delayed their smartphone purchases until 2020 in expectation of price reductions [to] begin buying again." It’s projecting 2020 sales of 5G smartphones will be 12 percent of the market at 221 million units.
The global smartphone market will return to growth in 2020, after a 2019 sales decline of 2 percent, said Gartner Tuesday. Worldwide sales of smartphones to end users are on track to reach 1.57 billion units this year, up 3 percent from 2019, on continued rollout of 5G service and regional growth in the Middle East and North Africa (5.9 percent), Asia-Pacific (5.7 percent) and Greater China (5.1 percent), it said. Oversupply in the high-end smartphone segment and longer replacement cycles led to a challenging year in 2019, but broader 5G network coverage this year should lure users who delayed a smartphone purchase hoping for lower prices, said the research firm. 5G phone sales are forecast to total 221 million this year -- 12 percent of overall mobile phone sales -- and then more than double next year to 489 million units. With sub-$300 5G phones announced, sales growth of the category is expected to top that of 4G phones over 12 months, said analyst Annette Zimmermann. Strong demand, including expectations of Apple’s first 5G iPhone, will boost overall smartphone demand, particularly in Asia-Pacific and Greater China, where sales are predicted to reach 432.3 million and 376.8 million handsets. At next month’s Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, the spotlight will be on 5G devices at either end of the price scale, with pre-show announcements expected, said the analyst. “The key focus for vendors will be access to 5G and enhancement of the camera technology within devices.”
Sprint is offering to fix damaged Samsung Galaxy smartphone screens -- regardless of carrier -- for $49 through Feb. 9, it emailed Friday. About one in 10 phone screens is cracked. If a screen can’t be repaired, Sprint will offer up to $150 for a trade-in.
The iPhone 11 series was 69 percent of Apple's December-quarter smartphone sales, with the leader 11 model comprising 39 percent, reported Consumer Intelligence Research Partners Tuesday. IPhone 11 is the leading model in the Apple smartphone line, said analyst Josh Lowitz, while the 2018 model XR remains popular at its reduced price. The 2018 iPhone XS and XS Max had a somewhat smaller combined share a year ago vs. the iPhone 11 Pro and 11 Pro Max in the most recent quarter, he said. The researcher estimates the weighted average retail price (WARP) for iPhones in the U.S. at $809, up from $783 in the September quarter and off the peak of $839 in the December 2018 quarter. WARP reversed a downward trend during 2019, said analyst Mike Levin, aided by higher prices for iPhone 11 Pro and 11 Pro Max that were offset by the lower price of iPhone 11 relative to the comparable iPhone XR launched the previous year. The trend to increased storage capacity slowed, too, said Levin. Two-thirds of iPhone 11 Pro and 11 Pro Max customers bought increased storage capacity beyond the base 64 gigabyte configuration, while fewer than half of buyers of all other models bought more capacity. A year ago, and in previous December quarters, over half of buyers of almost all models bought increased storage capacity, Levin said. CIRP surveyed 500 U.S. Apple customers who bought an iPhone, iPad, Mac computer, or Apple Watch October-December.
Qualcomm added three "platforms" to address the “ongoing demand” for 4G, said the company Tuesday. The Snapdragon 720G, 662 and 460 enable fast connectivity, deliver key Wi-Fi 6 features and have Bluetooth 5.1 support. “While we see a fast adoption of 5G across geographies globally,” 4G “will continue to remain a focus area” in regions like India “where it will stay a key technology for connectivity,” it said. “Our goal is to enable our partners to continue creating solutions that offer seamless connectivity access and exceptional mobile experiences.”
The American Civil Liberties Union called “dangerous and unconstitutional” President Donald Trump’s tweet Tuesday that Apple should “unlock phones used by killers, drug dealers and other violent criminal elements.” Strong encryption “enables religious minorities facing genocide, like the Uyghurs in China, and journalists investigating powerful drug cartels in Mexico, to communicate safely with each other, knowledgeable sources, and the outside world,” said ACLU Surveillance and Cybersecurity Counsel Jennifer Granick in a statement. Apple didn’t comment Wednesday. Senate Judiciary Committee members want Apple and Google to provide better device access (see 1912100039).
Worldwide shipments of used smartphones rose 17.6 percent to 206.7 million last year, reported IDC this week. The growth reflects “considerable savings” over new devices, as OEMs "struggled to produce new models that strike a balance” between new features consumers want and reasonable prices, said the researcher. The used market “shows no signs of slowing down,” said analyst Anthony Scarsella, with the transition from 4G to 5G. “The ability for vendors to push more affordable refurbished devices in markets in which they normally would not have a presence is helping these players grow their brand as well as their ecosystem of apps, services, and accessories.” Used smartphones had 22.2 percent share in North America in 2018, expected to grow to 26.2 percent by 2023. Elsewhere, it was 77.8 percent in 2018, forecast to reach 73.8 percent share in three years.
Apple iPhone and smartphone models by Samsung don’t exceed FCC RF specific absorption rate (SAR) limits, reported the Office of Engineering and Technology Thursday. Chicago Tribune tests found some exceeded such limits. “The FCC takes claims of non-compliance with its regulations seriously and commenced its own testing program of the implicated handsets,” the regulator said: “All sample cell phones tested by the FCC Laboratory, both grantee-provided and FCC-purchased samples, produced maximum 1-g average SAR values less than the 1.6 W/kg limit specified in the FCC rules.” The newspaper didn’t comment.
Samsung Electronics applied to register “Samsung Ultra Thin Glass” Dec. 5 as a U.S. trademark, Patent and Trademark Office records show. The trademark would apply to a wide variety of display panels, said the application. The company is expected to use ultra-thin glass as the cover material for the next generation of its Galaxy Fold smartphones (see 1907250030). The current Galaxy Fold uses a colorless polyimide film plus a hard coat as its cover material, but the polymer coating is much less durable and scratch-resistant than glass, say analysts. Samsung didn’t comment Thursday.
The Public Safety and Wireless bureaus reminded building owners and other non-licensee operators of Part 90 private land mobile radio signal boosters that they can't operate them until they “obtain the express written consent of the licensee(s) whose signals they would re-transmit” and “register Class B signal boosters” with the FCC. “Failure to do so risks harmful interference to first responders and others and may subject you to enforcement action,” said a notice in Wednesday's Daily Digest on docket 10-4.