The world's smartphone shipments are forecast to grow by about 20 percent to 1.5 billion units this year.
The global smartphone market will likely to grow again from the fourth quarter of this year, although the premium smartphone market has entered the phase of maturity.
According to market research firm IC Insights on July 4, the global smartphone shipments recovered slightly to 350 million units in the second quarter of this year after falling to 337 million in the first quarter of this year from 374 million a quarter ago.
The global smartphone shipments, however, are likely to recover to 373 million in the third quarter of this year and hit a record quarterly high at 435 million in the fourth quarter of this year.
This year's smartphone shipments worldwide are forecast to reach 1,495 million units, up 19 percent from last year's 1,260 million units. The share of smartphones in overall mobile phone market is expected to reach an all-time high at 80 percent in the fourth quarter of this year.
