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Global smartphone sales will take a hit as tariffs bite, says IDC

The firm decreased its worldwide smartphone forecast to 0.6% YoY.

While current exemptions on smartphones have offered temporary relief, the looming possibility of broader tariffs presents a serious risk,” said Nabila Popal, senior research director at IDC's Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker. The global market intelligence firm said that it had to lower its earlier prediction of 2.3% that it made in February, due to the high uncertainty around fluctuating tariffs, economic challenges, "such as inflation and unemployment across many regions leading to a slowdown in consumer spending." Several factors could cause this, and the firm attributes it to people retaining their phones for longer periods, and an increasing trend of buying refurbished smartphones instead of new ones, as they can be lighter on the pocket.

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