Global smartphone market drops 9% in biggest ever fall

Demand for new phones appears to be waning with collapse in China market and Apple shipping 5m fewer devices

The global smartphone market fell 9% in a year this quarter, the biggest fall in smartphone history, with even Apple's iPhone sales down 1% as users hang on to their phones longer.

For Apple, which is shipping 5m fewer smartphones than a year ago, the decline is offset by an increase in the average sale price of its iPhone, thanks to the popularity of its 1,000 iPhone X.