Worldwide, combined shipments for devices (PCs, tablets, ultramobiles and mobile phones) are expected to decline 3 per cent in 2016.
This will mark the second consecutive year of decline. Mobile phone shipments will fall 1.6 per cent in 2016, but will return to growth in 2017.
Ranjit Atwal, Research Director, Gartner, said, "Growth is on pace to remain flat during the next five years. All segments are expected to decline in 2016, except for premium ultramobiles and utility mobile phones (entry-level phones), which are expected to show single-digit growth this year."
"We expect premium ultramobiles will start benefiting from the collective performance and integration of the latest Intel CPU platform and Windows 10," added Atwal.
The PC market is expected to exhibit an 8-per cent decline in 2016, as the installed base bottoms out and replacement cycle extensions halt.
Regions such as Western Europe, where the Euro depreciated significantly in 2015 and PC prices increased, finally showed flat market growth (-0.9 per cent) in the second quarter of 2016.
This follows four consecutive quarters of decline.
"Device vendors are mitigating the currency depreciation of the pound in two ways – first, they are taking advantage of the likelihood of a single-digit decline in PC component costs in 2016. Second, they will "de-feature" their PCs to keep prices down. With these changes, Gartner expects PC prices in the UK to increase by less than 10 per cent in 2017," added Atwal.
Total mobile phone shipments are on pace to decline 1.6 per cent in 2016.
The smartphone segment continues to grow, albeit more slowly than in the previous years, and is expected to reach 1.5 billion units in 2016. "This is no surprise; the smartphone market is maturing, and reaching global saturation with phones that are increasingly capable and remain good enough for longer," said Roberta Cozza, Research Director, Gartner.
In 2016, the Android market will continue to be bolstered by Chinese vendors offering more affordable premium devices. Despite the availability of the iPhone 7, Gartner expects a weaker year-over-year volume performance from Apple in 2016, as volumes stabilize after a very strong 2015. As a result, Gartner expects total smartphone market to only increase 4.5 per cent with premium smartphones declining 1.1 per cent in 2016.
"We expect the market for premium smartphones to return to 3.5-per cent growth in 2017, as stronger replacement cycles kick in and in anticipation of a new iPhone next year, which is expected to offer a new design and new features that are attractive enough to convince more replacement buyers," added Cozza.
