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- IDC says growth in the global smartphone market slowed into the single digits for the first time ever this year.
- The company predicts the overall market will increase by just 9.8% in 2015, ComputerWorld reports.
- A Windows Phone decline of 10.2% for the year helped drag down overall growth, said IDC.
Dive Insight:
IDC said while the 9.8% growth rate is still strong, it is a marked change from previous years. For example, in 2014, smartphone shipments grew by 27.5%.
IDC predicts slower growth in smartphones will intensify for the next several years. Shipment growth in China will slow to the low single digits, IDC said, while the Middle East and Africa will see the biggest growth, with an increase of nearly 50% compared to 2014.
IDC says Windows Phone will have just 2.2% market share for 2015, compared to 81% for Android and nearly 16% for Apple's iOS.
"Despite all the effort Microsoft has put in the launch of Windows 10, IDC does not expect Microsoft's share of the smartphone OS market to grow much over the coming years," IDC said.