Global smartphone shipments rose by 6 percent on an annual basis last year as the industry emerged from coronavirus pandemic-induced disruptions to the market in 2020, a new report by Gartner said.
The demand was driven by a recovery in spending and opening of marketplaces along with a lower base for comparison from 2020. More than 1.43 billion smartphones were sold in 2021, nearly 80 million more than in 2020, the Connecticut-based market researcher said. Higher smartphone sales in the first half of 2021, following a 12.5 per cent decline in 2020, helped to boost performance last year.
“Previous year’s [2020’s] lower smartphone sales because of Covid-19. —TLTP
