IDC forecasts single-digit growth for the worldwide smartphone market, while Windows Phone growth declines

IDC fMarket research firm IDC is forecasting a single-digit growth for worldwide smartphone market this year, something which would happen for the firm time. The firm is predicting a growth of 9.8% in 2015 to a total of 1.43 billion units.

As for the reason, IDC mentions slowdown in shipments in Asia/Pacific (excluding Japan), Latin America, and Western Europe. It also notes that the economic slowdown in China - the largest smartphone market by shipments - has affected the overall market growth.

Image credit: Lam Yik Fei/Getty Images

"With the smartphone market finally slowing to single-digit growth, maintaining momentum will depend on several factors," said Ryan Reith , Program Director with IDC's Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker. "The main driver has been and will continue to be the success of low-cost smartphones in emerging markets."

"This, in turn, will depend on capturing value-oriented first-time smartphone buyers as well as replacement buyers. We believe that, in a number of high-growth markets, replacement cycles will be less than the typical two-year rate, mainly because the components that comprise a sub-$100 smartphone simply do not have the ability to survive two years. Offering products that appeal to both types of buyers at a suitable price point will be crucial to maintaining growth and vendor success."

As for areas of growth, IDC says the Middle East & Africa (MEA) region will surpass "hot markets" like India and Indonesia this year with an year-on-year shipment growth of 50%.

The research firm is predicting the worldwide smartphone market growth to come down to just 4.7% by the year 2019. Here's the detailed forecast data IDC shared for the 2015-2019 period:

While Google's Android will continue dominating the smartphone OS market, Apple is expected to stay at the number two spot with a market share of around 14-15%. However, IDC isn't expecting Windows Phone share to grow over the next four years, and the firm is even forecasting a year-over-year decline of -10.2% for the OS in 2015, saying it's largely due to "lack of OEM partner support."

Via: gsmarena

orecasts single-digit growth for the worldwide smartphone mark
Vet, while Windows Phone growth declines

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Dual-SIM LG Nexus 5X is apparently available in Kuwait

The LG Nexus 5X may be the first ever Nexus device to have a dual-SIM version. That is, if the information listed by one Kuwaiti retailer is correct. Xcite is the company that claims to have the dual-SIM Nexus 5X already in stock, ready to be purchased for KWD 145 in its 16GB iteration (that's around $477 or €437, by the way).

All the other specs are identical to the single-SIM Nexus 5X we all know, but there's the added mention of two nano SIM slots to complete the package. So unless this is a mistake, we should probably expect to see the dual-SIM Nexus 5X launching in some other markets in the near future as well.

However, it's unlikely that LG and Google will bring this model to Europe or North America, since they've traditionally not been markets with high demand for dual-SIM smartphones. On the other hand, the dual-SIM Nexus 5X could be offered pretty much everywhere else in the world.

Via: gsmarena

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Cyanogen OS 12.1 update for YU Yuphoria to begin rolling out

Back in June this year, it was announced that the Cyanogen OS 12.1 update for YU Yurekaand Yuphoria smartphones will be rolled out soon. After months of waiting, the update landedon the Yureka and Yureka Plus in November, but Yuphoria users were still left hanging.

The good news is that the wait is now over, as YU has announced that the Cyanogen OS 12.1 update for the Yuphoria is ready for its roll-out. The announcement was made by CEO Rahul Sharma on Twitter. He says that the company has just received the CTS approval for the update, and will begin the roll out tonight.

As for the update, it brings along several new features including a new launcher that is claimed to be redesigned for one-handed use, expanded support of codecs for video and audio playback, as well as a LiveDisplay feature that the company claims intelligently adjusts your screen based on environmental conditions.

Via: gsmarena

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ZTE Blade A1 gets official with fingerprint sensor, sub-$100 price

Today ZTE has added a new member to its Blade family of affordably priced smartphones. At an event in China the Blade A1 became official.

This is a small handset that comes packing a fingerprint scanner on its back. It also has a design slightly reminiscent of the iPhone 5c and an incredibly glossy plastic build.

 
ZTE Blade A1

The specs are nothing earth-shattering, then again that's not the point here. The Blade A1 will cost just CNY 599 (that's $93 or €85) when it goes on sale on December 11.

It has a 5-inch 720p touchscreen, a 13 MP rear camera with LED flash, an 8 MP selfie snapper, the MediaTek MT6735 chipset (with 1.3 GHz quad-core Cortex-A53 CPU), 2GB of RAM, 16GB of expandable storage, and a 2,800 mAh battery. It runs ZTE's MiFavor 3.2 on top of Android 5.1 Lollipop.

Its dimensions are 142 x 70.2 x 8.9 mm. It will be available in Smart White, Vibrant Yellow, Dream Green, Cool Blue, and Space Grey. Because we've seen quite a few Blade-series members in certain parts of Europe in the past, the A1 has a chance of making it to places outside of China too.

Via: gsmarena

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Samsung Galaxy Note5 finally landing in Europe early next year

When Samsung unveiled the Galaxy Note5 back in August this year, it was announced that the device won't be available in Europe, at least not this year. Now, the year is about to end, and a couple of new reports are claiming that the handset is all set to land in Europe early next year.

A report from Gadgette says the smartphone will go on sale in the UK in January, i.e., next month. And AndroidCentral, on its part, has confirmed that the device will indeed be available for purchase in European markets in early 2016.

There's, however, still no word on the price tag the Galaxy Note5 will carry in Europe.

Via: gsmarena

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