Global Device Shipments to Increase in 2020, Buoyed by Smartphone Growth: Gartner

The global shipments of devices -- PCs, tablets and mobile phones -- will reach 2.16 billion units in 2020, an increase of 0.9 percent from 2019 buoyed by growth in smartphone shipments driven by 5G handsets, a Gartner report said on Tuesday. 5G models will account for 12 percent of mobile phone shipments in 2020 which would reach 43 percent by 2022.

"2020 will witness a slight market recovery. Increased availability of 5G handsets will boost mobile phone replacements, which will lead global device shipments to return to growth in 2020," said Ranjit Atwal, research senior director at Gartner.

In 2019, global shipments of devices totalled 2.15 billion units. The worldwide mobile phone market is on course to grow by 1.7 percent in 2020.

Shipments of smartphones were weak in 2019, recording a 2 percent decline year over year, but are expected to grow in 2020 -- particularly in Greater China and emerging markets in Asia/Pacific.

"From 2020, Gartner expects an increase in 5G phone adoption as prices decrease, 5G service coverage increases and users have better experiences with 5G phones.

"The market will experience a further increase in 2023, when 5G handsets will account for over 50 percent of the mobile phones shipped," said Atwal.

Even after experiencing a return to growth in 2019, PC shipments are still forecast to decline in 2020 and beyond.

Through 2020, this market will be affected by the end of the migration to Windows 10, said the report.

After three years of growth in the professional PC market, replacement levels will decrease.

According to Gartner, one billion PCs will have migrated to Windows 10 through 2020 -- around 80 percent of all PCs in use.

"The PC market's future is unpredictable because there will not be a Windows 11. Instead, Windows 10 will be upgraded systematically through regular updates," said Atwal.