TAIPEI (TVBS News) — The global smartphone market saw a 2% growth in the third quarter of 2024, with total shipments reaching 300 million units and a 10% revenue increase, according to Counterpoint Research. However, Samsung's late October financial report predicts growth may drop below 1% in 2025, raising concerns among analysts and industry insiders about the market's future.
Luke Lin (林俊吉), an analyst at DIGITIMES, suggests that global smartphone shipment growth in 2025 could decline by 3% to 3.5% compared to 2024. He attributes this to a lack of confidence in the global economic conditions anticipated for next year. Chen Shin-hui (陳馨蕙), a researcher at the Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research (中華經濟研究院), observes that while innovations like the iPhone 6 transformed user habits, subsequent performance enhancements have not significantly motivated consumers to upgrade.
Taiwanese supply chain firms, such as Largan Precision (大立光), MediaTek (聯發科), and TXC (晶技), may face operational pressures. Nonetheless, Chen stresses that the impact on these companies is minimal due to their diversification into medical and automotive electronics. Taiwanese suppliers are actively pursuing diversification strategies to mitigate the smartphone market's volatility.
