Worldwide smartphone growth to slow down this year, Android to lead market share

The growth of smartphones worldwide is forecasted to slow down until the end of 2015. Android meanwhile will be leading in market shares this year.

International Data Corporation (IDC) confirmed in a report that smartphones' growth will continue to decrease this year. Shipment for the said gadgets will grow by 11.3 %, which is a big difference from last year's growth of 27.6%. This is because China, the world's largest smartphone market, has had a decline in the shipment of the said phones. This happened during the last quarter of this year with shipments going down at 8% versus 4% in previous years, a first in nine years. This will be the first time that China's 2.5% growth performance will be slower than the global market although the country's smartphone market will still be the biggest in the world.

This however would affect Android's expansion which would only be 8.5%, also a slower growth versus the worldwide market. Android has been a favourite mobile purchase in China.

Aside from Android smartphones, iOS and mobile OS will also be affected in terms of sales and China may face a stiff competition from other local brands.

Still, Android will continue to lead with 79.4% in market shares this year although it is foreseen to go down to 79% by 2019. A report says Apple's iOs meanwhile may have a 16.4% market distribution in 2015 and will plunge to 14% four years from now. Only Microsoft's Window Phone OS will gain from 3.2% to 5.4% in 2019.

On the lighter side, several markets are said to expand this year and in the years to come. A source says global shipment may reach 1.9 billion units yearly in 2019. This can be attested by iOs phones which made big sales since it shifted to bigger screens.

Moreover, other countries outside China will benefit from the overall growth slow down of smartphones.