Global smartphone shipments are anticipated to reach 1.23 billion units in 2025, with 5G smartphones making up 74%, or approximately 912 million units, according to the Taipei-based Market Intelligence & Consulting Institute (MIC). 5G smartphone shipments are forecasted to reach 805.8 million units in 2024, marking a 22.5% year-over-year increase, and to further grow to 912 million units in 2025, up 13.2% from the previous year.

Following two consecutive years of decline, the global smartphone market is gradually recovering, driven by increased demand and growing interest in AI-enabled and foldable smartphones. MIC projects a 3% year-over-year increase in total smartphone shipments in 2024, reaching approximately 1.19 billion units. Looking ahead, MIC anticipates that with global economic stability on the horizon, global smartphone shipments in 2025 will continue steady growth, approaching levels last seen in 2020.

Global 5G Smartphone Shipment Volume Forecast, 2024-2027

Source: MIC, November 2024

According to the National Communications Commission (NCC), as of September 2024, the number of 5G users rose to over 9.67 million, an increase of more than 170,000 users from the previous month. Furthermore, Taiwan's 5G users expect to reach the 10 million milestone by the end of the year. Meanwhile, 4G users dropped by nearly 250,000—the largest decline in a single month so far this year. It has been over four years since Taiwan launched its commercial 5G network. Among three leading telecoms, Chunghwa Telecom leads with 3.753 million 5G users, followed by Taiwan Mobile with 3.022 million, and Far EasTone with 2.901 million.

About Market Intelligence & Consulting Institute (MIC):

Established in 1987, Market Intelligence & Consulting Institute (MIC) is a division of III (Institute for Information Industry), a major government think tank, and one of the leading IT research institutes in Taiwan. MIC specializes in industry and market research. With over three decades of experience, MIC provides valuable insights and data-driven recommendations to assist businesses in making informed decisions.

To know more about this topic, please visit: Outlook for the Global ICT Industry, 2024 and Beyond (pre-order), Global Five-Year Market Forecast 2024-2028: PCs, Servers, Motherboards, Wi-Fi Connected Devices, and Smartphones, Worldwide Smartphone Market Forecast, 2024~2028 (May 2024 Update), Worldwide Wi-Fi Connected Device Market Forecast, 2024 - 2028, The Taiwan 5G FWA CPE Industry, 4Q 2023, Unveiling Smartphone Trends Arising from the Rise of AI Phones

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