(Telecompaper) IDC has downgraded its forecast for the global smartphone market in 2018, due mainly to continued weak sales in China. In February, the market researcher said it expected the market to recover to low single-digit growth this year, after a 0.3 percent fall in 2017, the first drop ever in the smartphone market. However, its latest forecast predicts unit shipments will contract again in 2018, down an estimated 0.2 percent to 1.462 billion units. Growth should return in 2019, at around 3 percent, and continue at a CAGR of 2.5 percent to reach 1.654 billion units in 2022.