Stagnation in store for global PC, tablet and mobile phone sales

GARTNER forecasts global sales of just under two billion mobile phones each year until 2018.

On the whole, the research institute estimates flatlining sales of smartphones, tablets and even PCs in the coming years.

In 2016, total sales of such devices are expected to fall by around 3% to an equivalent 2.329 billion unit sales, comprising 265 million PC sales (-8%), 177 million sales of tablets and similar devices (-9.7%) and 1.887 billion mobile phones (-1.6%).

Smartphone sales should pass the symbolic 1.5 billion mark for unit sales for the first time this year.

Smartphone sales are likely to continue growing in developing countries such as India, but remain stable in more mature markets such as North America or China.

Over the coming years, Gartner predicts a slight increase in mobile phone sales, of 1.2% per year, until 2018, reaching 1.933 billion units.

The tablet market is likely to stagnate in coming years, with just under 450 million unit sales each year.

After totalling 196 million tablet sales worldwide in 2015, this figure is expected to drop to 177 million in 2016 then 173 million in 2017 and 2018.

A very slight rebound is expected in the PC market, buoyed by the premium ultraportable laptop segment.

Gartner predicts PC sales of 274 million units worldwide in 2018, compared with 265 million in 2016, with the market share for ultraportable devices growing from 18.5% to 27.4% in two years.