Smartphone Shipments Increase as China Uncertainty Continues
Global smartphone shipments increased 1.5% year over year in the first three months of 2025, despite potential headwinds looming, IDC said Monday. Shipments rose to 304.9 million units, said an IDC report, which came after a confusing weekend for smartphones and the Trump administration's China trade policy.
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Trump announced a 125% increase in tariffs on Chinese imports last week, including on many smartphones (see 2504090049). On Friday night, U.S. Customs and Border Patrol indicated in a notice that smartphones, computers, semiconductors and other tech goods would be excluded from the “reciprocal” tariff. Then on various news shows Sunday, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said the reprieve was only temporary.
IDC analysts warned of continuing volatility. “Faced with heightened geopolitical uncertainty and the looming threat of substantial U.S. tariff hikes on goods imported from China, vendors strategically accelerated production schedules and pulled forward significant shipment volumes, particularly into the critical US market, during Q1,” said Francisco Jeronimo, IDC's vice president-client devices. “This supply-side surge, aimed at mitigating potential cost increases and disruptions, effectively inflated Q1 shipment figures beyond levels anticipated based on underlying consumer demand trends alone.”
Pausing smartphone import tariffs offers only “temporary relief” for U.S. companies, said Ryan Reith, IDC's group vice president-worldwide device trackers. "But heavy reliance on China’s supply chain persists amid ongoing tariff volatility." That makes “future planning challenging” and leaves “many companies with important decisions with high levels of uncertainty.”