Gartner tipped global device shipments to grow a modest 0.9 per cent in 2020, driven by increased availability of 5G handsets.

In a statement, the analyst company said shipments of devices, a segment comprising mobile phones, tablets and PCs, would reach 2.16 billion units in 2020, up from 2.15 billion in 2019.

Stripping out mobile phone figures alone, the market was tipped to grow 1.7 per cent to 1.7 billion units this year, reversing a 2 per cent year-on-year decline in 2019, Gartner said.

Gartner cited demand from greater China and emerging markets in Asia Pacific as drivers of the overall market, with 5G models expected to account for 12 per cent of all mobile phone shipments.

Research director Ranjit Atwal, explained there would be a “slight market recovery” in 2020, as growing “availability of 5G handsets will boost mobile phone replacements, which will lead global device shipments to return to growth”.

Gartner expects the market share of 5G phones to increase over the next three years as prices decrease and service coverage improves, predicting growth from 12 per cent in 2020 to 43 per cent of all mobile phone shipments by 2022 and more than 50 per cent in 2023.

Any rise in mobile phone shipments in 2020 will be offset by declining PC numbers, signalling the end of three years of growth.