According to a new smartphone forecast from IDC, shipments are expected to grow 11.3% in 2015, which is down from 27.6% in 2014. While overall smartphone growth will continue to slow, many markets will experience robust growth in 2015 and beyond, and worldwide shipment volumes are forecast to reach 1.9 billion units annually by 2019. IDC sees bad news ahead for Android but great news for Apple.

The Bad News for Android: As IDC reported earlier in May, smartphone shipments in China actually declined year over year in the first quarter of 2015, showing that the largest market in the world has reached a level of maturity where rapid growth will be harder to achieve. This has implications for Android because China has been a critical market for Android smartphone shipments in recent years, accounting for 36% of total volume in 2014.

The Good News for Apple: IDC notes that Apple's recent shift in their product line towards larger display with a broader country reach has had an immediate impact on volumes. IDC expects iOS smartphones to grow 23.0% in 2015 and remain above worldwide market growth rates throughout the forecast.

Ryan Reith, Program Director with IDC's Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker stated in the report that "There's no question that a large chunk of Apple's installed base is still using older models (pre-iPhone 6/6+), which leaves continued growth opportunity in the second half of 2015 and beyond.

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