Smartphone shipments could reach 1.5 billion by 2017

A new report claims that shipments of smartphones could grow substantially over the next few years. According to IHS, per CNET, worldwide smartphone shipments are expected to reach 1.5 billion units by 2017. Earlier reports had suggested that Android shipments would account for 1 billion units in the same year. The research firm estimates that worldwide smartphone shipments will reach nearly 900 million units by the end of 2013, with Apple accounting for 150 million units, a slight increase from 134 million in 2012. IHS senior analyst Wayne Lam noted that the “possible slowing growth of the iPhone,” along with “the rapid pace of competitive smartphone releases speak to the ferocious nature of the handset business.” He added that while the market used to be dominated by lower-end feature phones, it is becoming “increasingly smartphone-centric.”