Device Shipments Will Increase 2.1% in 2018

Worldwide shipments of devices, PCs, tablets and mobile phones, totaled 2.28 billion units in 2017, according to Gartner. Shipments are on course to reach 2.32 billion units in 2018, an increase of 2.1 percent.

Two markets will drive overall growth in device shipments in 2018. First is the mobile phone market, led by the high-end smartphone segment. Second is the premium ultramobile market, where thin and light Apple and Microsoft Windows 10 devices are stimulating higher demand.

Gartner forecasts that shipments of traditional PCs will decline by 5.4 percent in 2018, with notebooks showing the steepest decline (6.8 percent). The premium ultramobile market will be the only PC segment to achieve growth in 2018, without which the overall PC market would decline.

Worldwide Device Shipments by Device Type, 2016-2019 (Millions of Units)

Gartner forecasts that mobile phone shipments will increase by 2.6 percent in 2018, with the total amounting to 1.9 billion units. In 2018, smartphone sales will grow by 6.2 percent, to represent 87 percent of mobile phone sales. Smartphone vendors will focus on delivering more compelling personalized experiences, via on-device (AI), virtual personal assistants and more natural user interfaces, but also through biometrics and further enhancements to display and camera features.