Global Smartphone Shipments Expected to Reach 322 Million

Smartphone sales and shipments haven't simply been increasing over the years, but are in fact growing exponentially. More advanced data networks combines with the lower price of smartphone materials means that more people are making the purchase, and this denser population of smartphone users is also helping spur others into getting smartphones of their own. The rapid growth of smartphones is also expected to be fueled by newer and more advanced features on the devices, to the point that market intelligence firm TrendForce expects smartphone shipments to reach 322 million by the end of the third quarter of 2013, a growth of 13 percent over the quarter.

TrendForce believes that a major portion of this growth will be driven by the release of the new iPhone 6, based on the prediction that the larger screen will do well in Chinese markets. With a release date scheduled for the 9^th of September, the firm's analysis of a recent Avanti survey took notice of the fact that 38 percent of Chinese consumers were planning on purchasing the device, with 67 percent citing the larger screen as a reason.

The company also predicts that by the end of the year, overall shipments in 2014 will have reached 1.2 billion, representing a 29.2 percent yearly increase. TrendForce's own Avril Wu, a smartphone analyst, stated that the increased demand for the new iPhone is only part of the equation. Ultimately, he states that shipments will depend on key supply chain makers and manufacturers maintaining reliable and stable production rates. If these companies reach bottlenecks, then there may not be enough phones to ship out and meet the demand. Thankfully, this does not appear likely, as vendors around the world are apparently primed and ready to meet the growing demand.