Global smartphone shipments are now expected to grow by just 1.9% in 2025, a cut from earlier projections.
This revised outlook, published by Counterpoint Research, results from issues over U.S. tariff policies and the ripple effects they’re having on manufacturers, supply chains, and consumers.
The earlier forecast stood at 4.2%, but with Washington’s trade stance remaining uncertain and a recent announcement from President Trump introducing new tariffs on key imports, that rate has evaporated.
Although the U.S. has temporarily suspended tariffs on smartphones and other tech products, the damage is already visible in market sentiment.
I see what’s happening: manufacturers are on edge. Apple and Samsung, two of the biggest names in the smartphones market, are scaling back the expected volume of shipments.
This is not about supply alone, but cost too. With prices rising along the supply chain, manufacturers are passing the burden onto consumers. People are thinking twice before upgrading their devices. That hesitation hurts the entire industry.
Counterpoint also noted that China, the world’s largest smartphone market, is not immune. Year-on-year shipment growth there is expected to flatten. That’s no surprise when you consider the stress from economic fluctuations, weak consumer confidence, and worsening geopolitical tensions.
In contrast, Apple is slowly untangling itself from China. Around 20% of iPhones imported into the U.S. now originate from India. This change is a necessary buffer against the instability of U.S.-China trade relations.
International Data Corporation (IDC) has already lowered its growth projection for 2025 from 2.3% to a meagre 0.6%. According to IDC, “tariff-driven economic uncertainty and a pullback in consumer spending” are the key forces dragging the market down.
These revised numbers on smartphone shipments suggest supply chains in flux, global inflation biting into purchasing power, and a tense political climate that makes long-term planning difficult for tech giants.
If these warnings hold, 2025 won’t be the recovery year the smartphone industry had hoped for. Instead, we may be entering a phase where resilience, not growth, becomes the central strategy.
