Economics
IMF Says the Global Smartphone Boom Has Reached Its Peak
- But demand for other high-tech products may buoy Asia’s trade
- Smartphone shipments fell for first time on record in 2017
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The global smartphone boom that’s helped propel Asia’s economic growth and reshape trade channels in recent years may have peaked.
That’s one of the observations tucked into the International Monetary Fund’s latest outlook for the world economy. While smartphone sales totaled 1.5 billion units last year -- enough for one of every five people on the planet -- shipments declined for the first time on record, the IMF said on Tuesday.