Canalys: 5G phone shipments will overtake 4G in 2023

Although global 5G adoption is going through a tough period right now, Canalys predicts a bright future for next-gen smartphones. According to the well-known technology market analysis firm, 5G-capable handset shipments will dominate the market as soon as 2023.

The figures involved in the worldwide forecast for 5G handsets by Canalys are quite impressive: no less than 1.9 billion units shipped between 2019 and 2023, with a value of almost 800 million units in 2023 alone. If the forecast proves to be accurate, this impressive number of 5G phones will account for 51.4 percent of the global smartphone market in 2023.

A more accurate chart by Canalys (pictured below) includes a total number of 774 million 5G phones that would be shipped in 2023. According to this chart, China will engulf no less than 263 million 5G phones, followed by North America (145 million) and Asia Pacific (135 million). Europe is the last region expected to go above the 100 million units mark, with 123 million. The last two regions present in the chart are Latin America and the Middle East, each with 54 million.

Canalyst analyst Mo Jia reveals that Chinese operators will throw in no less than US$5 billion this year for the development of the local 5G network. This year, there will be build between 70,000 and 90,000 5G base stations across China. In the meantime, it looks like many other countries are busy banning and un-banning Huawei and ZTE, thus slowing down 5G adoption.