Analyst agency: deliveries of smartphones are falling sharply due to lack of ‘wow’ factor

The number of smartphones delivered in the last months of 2017 decreased by nine percent compared to the same period in 2016, analyst firm Strategy Analytics has calculated. The decline is due to China, where far fewer people bought smartphones.

Many people in China put off buying a smartphone because they want to last longer with their device and because there are no models with a ‘wow’ factor, claims Strategy Analytics. The decline is mainly attributable to manufacturers outside the top five; in the Others category, deliveries fell 22 percent, according to the analyst firm.

Strategy estimates that shipments of Samsung smartphones fell 4 percent, while Apple’s shipments fell 1.2 and Huawei’s 8.6 percent. Xiaomi was the only manufacturer in the top five to deliver more devices; the increase was no less than 86 percent.

Over the whole year, the smartphone market still showed a small growth. In total, Strategy estimates that manufacturers ship more than one and a half billion smartphones in a year.